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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


THE  WILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIVIL  WAR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/lostarmyOOknox 


Trying  to  Enlist. 


Page  9. 


THE    LOST   ARMY 


THOMAS    W.    KNOX 

AUTHOR   OF   "  A   CLOSE   SHAVE,"    "  THE   TALKING  HANDKERCHIEF,"    "  THE    BOY 
TRAVELLERS,"   ETC.,   ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW    YORK 

THE     MERRIAM    COMPANY 

67  Fifth  Avenue, 


.V 

C 


Copyrighted,  1894, 

EY 

THE  MERRIAM  COMPANY. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Harry  and  Jack — Outbreak  of  the  War — Trying  to 

Enlist 5 

II.  St.  Louis  and  Camp  Jackson 12 

III.  Secession  Ideas  of  Neutrality 19 

IV.  On  the  Koad  to  Glory 26 

V.  On  tlie  March — Captuiing  a  Rebel  Flag 33 

VI.  Marching  and  Camping  in  the  Kain — First  Shots  at 

the  Enemy 39 

VII.  From  Jefferson  to  Booneville — First  Battle  in  Mis- 
souri      46 

VIII.  The  Captured  Camp— A  Chaplain's  Exploit 51 

IX.  Regulars  and  Volunteers — Foraging  in  the  Enemy's 

Country 57 

X.  Lessons  in  Mule  Driving — Critical  Position  of  the 

Army 64 

XL  A  Terrible  March^A  Fight  and  a  Retreat 71 

XII.  Battle  of  Wilson's  Creek — Death  of  General  Lyon. .     77 

XIII.  After  the  Battle— A  Flag  of  Truce 84 

XIV.  Losses  in  Battle — The  Retreat 91 

XV.  In  Camp  at  Rolla — A  Private  Expedition  into  the 

Enemy's  Country 97 

XVI.  Hints  for  Campaigning — In  a  Rebel's  House — Snuff- 
Dipping 104 

XVII.  A  Successful   Scout — Capture  of  a  Rebel   Cavalry 

Squad Ill 

XVIII.  The  Rebels  on  the  Offensive — Siege  of  Lexington. . .   117 
XIX.  Surrender  of  Lexington — Price's  Retreat  and  Fre- 
mont's Advance 124 

XX.  Occupation  of  Springfield — Another  Battle   Immi- 
nent     131 

XXI.  Army  Scouting — Refugees  and  their  Sufferings 138 

XXII.  A  General  Advance — A  Scouting  Party  and   what 

Came  of  It 144 


603003 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEB  PAGE 

XXIII.  In  the  Camp  of  the  Rebels — Captiu'ed  Letters  and 

their  C'ontents 151 

XXIV.  A    Rapid     Pursuit — "The    Arkansas     Traveler" — 

Game  Chickens  and  Cooking  Mains 157 

XXV.  A    Rapid   Retreat — An   Expedition    and    a    Forced 

March  165 

XXVI.  Van    Dorn's   Advance — Sigel's   Masterly    Retreat — 

The  Battle  Begun 173 

XXVII.  The  Fighting  near  Elkhorn  Tavern — Harry's  Exper- 
ience under  Fire 180 

XXVIII.  General  Carr'  s  Division  Driven  Back — Jack  Becomes 

a  Prisoner 187 

XXIX.  The  Night   in  Camp — Beginning  of  tlie  Last  Day's 

Battle 194 

XXX.  Tlie  Rebels   Defeated — End  of  the  Battle — Indians 

Scalping  our  Soldiers  and  Mutilating  their  Bodies.  201 
XXXI.  Jack's  Experiences  as  a  Prisoner — Rebel  Soldiers' 

Opinions 210 

XXXII.  Jack's  Diplomacy — His  Return  to   Camp — A  New 

Move 216 

XXXIII.  A    New    Scouting    Expedition — Captured     by    the 

Enemy 223 

XXXIV.  Captured  Again— How  Jack  "  Played  Crazy  " 230 

XXXV.  A  Treacherous  Host — How  the    Boys  turned   the 

Tables 246 

XXXVI.  Convicted  by  a  Dumb  Witness — Short  Rations — A 

Capture 253 

XXXVII.  Returning  Cordelia's  Kindness — Jack  and  Harry  on 

a  Naval  Expedition 260 

XXXVIII.  The  Boat  vinder  Fire — Important  information 266 

XXXIX.  A  Joke  on  the  Spies — Wonderful  Shells — Tlie  Army 

Reaches  Clarendon 275 

XL.  A   Night  Attack    by   Pigs — Battle    Between  Forts 

and  Gunboats — Disaster  to  the  Momid  City 282 

XLI.  The  Lost  Army  in  Camp  at  Helena — Negroes  Utilized 

—The  End ' 290 


THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HAKRT     AND     JACK OUTBREAK     OF     THE     WAR TRYING     TO 

ENLIST. 

"  Let  's  go  and  enlist !  " 

"  Perhaps  they  won't  take  us,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Well,  there  's  nothing  like  trying,"  responded  the 
first  speaker.     "  Nothing  ventured,  nothing  gained." 

"  That  's  so,"  said  the  other.  "  And  if  we  can't  go  for 
soldiers,  perhaps  they  '11  find  us  useful  about  the  camp 
for  something  else." 

This  conversation  took  place  between  two  boys  of 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  one  pleasant  morning  early  in  the  year 
1861.  They  were  Jack  Wilson  and  Harry  Fulton,  neither 
of  whom  had  yet  seen  his  sixteenth  birthday.  They  were 
the  sons  of  industrious  and  respectable  parents,  whose 
houses  stood  not  far  apart  on  one  of  the  humbler  streets 
of  that  ambitious  city ;  they  had  known  each  other  for 
ten  years  or  more,  had  gone  to  school  together,  played 
together,  and  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing  they 
were  working  side  by  side  in  the  same  shop. 

The  war  for  the  destruction  of  the  Union  on  the  one 
hand  and  its  preservation  on  the  other  had  just  begun. 
The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  presidency  had 


6  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

alarmed  the  Southern  states,  who  regarded  it  as  a  menace 
to  their  beloved  system  of  negro  slavery.  In  consequence 
of  his  election  the  Southern  leaders  endeavored  to  with- 
draw their  states  from  the  Union,  and  one  after  another 
had  passed  ordinances  of  secession.  South  Carolina  was 
the  first  to  secede,  her  action  being  taken  on  the  twentieth 
of  December,  five  weeks  after  the  presidential  election. 
Ten  other  states  followed  her  example  and  united  with 
South  Carolina  in  forming  the  Confederate  States  of  North 
America,  choosing  Jefi'erson  Davis  as  their  first  president. 
Then  followed  the  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  forts 
and  other  property  of  the  United  States  in  the  region  in 
rebellion.  Fort  Sumter  was  taken  after  a  bloodless  fight, 
in  which  the  first  gun  was  fired  by  the  South ;  other 
states  seceded,  and  then  came  the  uprising  of  the  North 
in  defense  of  the  Union. 

As  if  by  the  wand  of  a  magician  the  whole  North  was 
transformed  into  a  vast  military  camp,  where  only  a  few 
days  before  nothing  was  to  be  seen  save  the  arts  and  arms 
of  peace  and  industry.  Recruiting  offices  were  opened 
in  every  city  and  almost  in  every  village.  Squads  were 
formed  into  companies,  companies  into  regiments  and 
regiments  into  brigades,  with  a  celerity  that  betokened  ill 
for  the  cause  of  secession.  The  North  had  been  taunted 
over  and  over  again  that  it  was  more  intent  upon  money- 
making  than  anything  else,  and  nothing  could  provoke  it 
into  a  fight.  It  had  been  patient  and  long-suffering,  but 
the  point  of  exasperation  had  been  reached,  and  the  men 
of  the  Northern  states  were  now  about  to  show  of  what 
stuff  they  were  made. 

The  president  issued  a  call  for  seventy-five  thousand 
men  to  serve  for  three  months,  and  the  call  was  responded 
to  with  alacrity.  And  it  was  in  the  recruiting  that  formed 
a  part  of  this  response  that  our  story  opens. 

Jack  and  Harry  went  to  the  recruiting  office,  which 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  7 

was  on  one  of  the  principal  streets  of  Dubuque  and  easy 
to  find.  Over  the  doorway  an  immense  flag — the  flag  of 
the  nation — was  waving  in  the  morning  breeze,  and  in 
front  of  the  door  was  an  excited  group  of  men  discussing 
the  prospects  for  the  future,  and  particularly  the  chances 
of  war. 

"  It  '11  be  over  in  a  month,"  said  one,  "  and  we  '11  all  be 
back  here  at  home  before  our  enlistment  time  's  up." 

"  Yes ;  the  South  '11  be  cleaned  out  in  no  time,"  said 
another.  "  Those  fellows  are  good  on  the  brag,  but  when 
they  look  into  the  muzzles  of  Northern  muskets  they  '11 
turn  tail  and  run." 

"  Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  said  a  third.  "  The  South 
may  be  wrong  in  all  this  business,  but  they  '11  give  us  all 
the  fighting  we  want." 

"  You  'd  better  go  and  fight  for  Jeff  Davis,"  was  the 
retort  which  followed.  "  We  don't  want  any  fellows  like 
you  around  us." 

"  That  we  don't,  you  bet,"  said  another,  and  the  senti- 
ment was  echoed  by  fully  half  the  listeners. 

"  You  're  all  wrong,"  persisted  the  man  who  had  just 
spoken.  " Don't  misunderstand  me;  I'm  just  as  good 
a  Union  man  as  anybody,  and  I  'm  going  to  fight  for  the 
Union,  but  I  don't  want  anybody  to  go  off  half-cocked, 
and  think  we're  going  to  lick  the  South  out  of  its  boots 
in  no  time  ;  because  we  can't  do  it.  We  're  going  to  win 
in  this  fight ;  we  're  twenty  millions  and  they  're  eight, 
and  we  've  got  most  of  the  manufacturing  and  the  men 
who  know  how  to  work  with  their  hands.  But  the 
Southerners  are  Americans  like  ourselves,  and  can  fight 
just  as  well  as  we  can.  They  think  they  're  right,  and 
thinking  so  makes  a  heap  of  difference  when  you  go  in 
for  war.     They  '11  do  their  level  best,  just  as  we  shall." 

"  Perhaps  they  will,"  was  the  reply,  "  but  we  '11  make 
short  work  of  'em." 


8  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"  All  right,"  responded  the  other,  "  we  won't  lose  our 
tempers  over  it  ;  but  anybody  who  thinks  the  war  will 
be  over  in  three  months  doesn't  appreciate  American 
fighting  ability,  no  matter  on  which  side  of  the  line  it  is 
found." 

This  mode  of  putting  the  argument  silenced  some  of 
his  opponents,  particularly  when  he  followed  it  up  by 
showing  how  the  Southern  regiments  in  the  Mexican  war 
covered  themselves  with  glory  side  by  side  with  the 
Northern  ones.  But  the  loudest  of  the  talkers  refused  to 
be  silenced,  and  continued  to  taunt  him  with  being  a 
sympathizer  with  the  rebellion. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  a  great  deal  of  this  kind  of 
talk  was  to  be  heard  on  both  sides ;  men  in  the  North 
declaring  that  the  South  would  be  conquered  and  the  war 
ended  in  three  months,  while  people  at  the  South  boasted 
of  the  ability  of  one  Southern  man  to  whip  three  North- 
erners. When  the  armies  fairly  met  in  the  field  and  steel 
clashed  against  steel  all  this  boasting  on  both  sides  was 
silenced,  and  North  and  South  learned  to  respect  each 
otlier  for  their  soldierly  qualities.  One  of  the  greatest  of 
military  mistakes  is  to  hold  your  enemy  in  contempt,  and 
to  this  mistake  is  due  some  of  the  disasters  of  the  early 
days  of  the  war. 

And  the  lesson  may  be  carried  further.  One  of  the 
greatest  mistakes  in  the  battle  of  life  is  to  underrate  those 
who  oppose  you  or  the  hindrances  that  lie  in  your  path. 
Always  regard  your  opponent  as  fully  your  equal  in 
everything,  and  then  use  your  best  endeavors  to  over- 
come him.  Do  your  best  at  all  times,  and  you  have  more 
than  an  even  chance  of  success  in  the  long  run. 

Jack  and  Harry  listened  a  few  moments  to  the  debate 
among  the  men  in  front  of  the  recruiting  office,  and  then 
made  their  way  inside.  A  man  in  the  uniform  of  a  cap- 
tain was  sitting  behind  a  desk  taking  the  names  of  those 


nm  LOST  ahmt.  0 

that  wanted  to  enlist,  and  telling  them  to  wait  their  turn 
for  examination.  In  a  few  moments  a  man  came  out 
from  an  inner  room,  and  then  a  name  was  called  and  its 
owner  went  inside. 

"  Don't  think  you  '11  get  in  there,  sonny,"  said  a  man, 
who  observed  the  puzzled  look  of  Jack  as  he  glanced  to- 
ward the  inner  door. 

"What  are  they  doing  in  there?"  queried  Jack  encour- 
aged by  the  friendly  way  in  which  he  had  been  addressed. 

"  They  're  putting  the  recruits  through  their  paces,"  was 
the  reply  ;  "examining  'em  to  see  whether  they  '11  do  for_ 
service." 

"  How  do  they  do  it  ?  " 

"  They  strip  a  man  down  to  his  bare  skin,"  was  the 
reply,  "and  then  they  thump  him  and  measure  him,  to 
see  if  his  lungs  are  sound;  weigh  him  and  take  his  height, 
make  him  jump,  try  his  eyes,  look  at  his  teeth ;  in  fact, 
they  put  him  through  very  much  as  you  've  seen  a  horse 
handled  by  a  dealer  who  wanted  to  buy  him.  They  've 
refused  a  lot  of  men  here  that  quite  likely  they  '11  be  glad 
to  take  a  few  months  from  now." 

And  so  it  was.  The  first  call  for  troops  was  responded 
to  by  far  more  men  than  were  wanted  to  fill  the  quota, 
and  the  recruiting  officers  could  afford  to  be  very  par- 
ticular in  their  selections.  Subsequent  calls  for  troops 
were  for  three  years'  service,  and,  as  the  number  under 
arms  increased,  recruiting  became  a  matter  of  greater 
difficulty.  Men  that  were  refused  at  the  first  call  were 
gladly  accepted  in  later  ones.  Before  the  end  of  the  first 
year  of  the  war  more  than  six  hundred  and  sixty-one 
thousand  men  were  under  arms  in  the  North. 

Jack  and  Harry  walked  up  to  the  desk  where  the  officer 
sat  as  soon  as  they  saw  he  was  unoccupied. 

"Well,  my  boys,  what  can  I  do  for  you?"  said  the 
captain  cheerily. 


10  THE  LOST  AHMT. 

Jack  waited  a  moment  for  Harry  to  speak,  and  finding 
he  did  not  do  so,  broke  the  ice  himself  with — 

"  We  want  to  enhst,  General." 

The  youth  was  unfamiliar  with  the  insignia  of  rank, 
and  thought  he  would  be  on  the  safe  side  by  applying 
the  highest  title  he  knew  of.  The  gilded  buttons  and 
shoulder-straps  dazzled  his  eyes,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that 
he  thought  a  man  with  so  much  ornamentation  was  de- 
serving of  the  highest  title. 

"  Captain,  if  you  please,"  said  the  officer,  smiling;  "but 
I  'm  afraid  you  're  too  young  for  us.     How  old  are  you?" 

"  Coming  sixteen,"  both  answered  in  a  breath. 

The  captain  shook  his  head  as  he  answered  that  they 
were  altogether  too  young. 

"  Could  n't  we  do  something  else  ? "  queried  Harry, 
eagerly.  "  We  can  drive  horses  and  work  about  the 
camp." 

"  If  you  ever  go  for  a  soldier,"  replied  the  captain, 
"you  '11  find  that  the  men  do  their  own  camp  work,  and 
don't  have  servants.  Perhaps  we  can  give  you  a  chance 
at  the  teams.  Here,  take  this  to  the  quartermaster," 
and  he  scribbled  a  memorandum,  suggesting  that  the 
boys  might  be  handy  to  have  about  camp  and  around  the 
horses.  They  could  n't  be  enlisted,  of  course,  but  he  liked 
their  looks,  and  thought  they  could  afford  to  feed  the 
youths,  anyhow. 

The  boys  eagerly  hastened  to  the  quartermaster,  whom 
they  had  some  difficulty  in  finding.  He  questioned  them 
closely,  and  finally  said  they  might  go  with  the  regiment 
when  it  moved.  It  was  not  then  ready  for  the  field,  and 
he  advised  the  boys  to  stay  at  home  until  the  organization 
was  complete  and  the  regiment  received  orders  to  march 
to  the  seat  of  war. 

The  parental  permission  was  obtained  with  compara- 
tively little  difficulty,  as  the  fathers  of  both  the  youths 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  11 

were  firm  believers  in  the  theory  of  a  short  war,  without 
any  figliting  of  consequence ;  they  thought  the  outing 
would  be  a  pleasant  affair  of  two  or  three  months  at 
farthest.  Had  they  foreseen  the  result  of  the  call  to 
arms,  and  especially  the  perils  and  privations  which  were 
to  befall  Jack  and  Harry,  it  is  probable  that  our  heroes 
would  have  been  obliged  to  run  away  in  order  to  carry 
out  their  intention  of  going  to  the  field.  And  possibly 
their  ardor  would  have  been  dampened  a  little,  and  they 
might  have  thought  twice  before  marching  away  as  they 
did  when  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  front  and  the 
scene  of  active  work  iu  the  field. 


12  TBE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ST.    LOUIS    AND    CAMP    JACKSON^. 

While  Jack  and  Harry  are  waiting  impatiently  for  the 
order  that  will  give  them  a  taste  of  military  life,  we  will 
leave  them  for  a  while  and  go  down  the  Mississippi  river  to 
the  great  city  of  St.  Louis. 

The  state  of  Missouri  was  one  of  those  known  as  the 
"  Border  States,"  as  it  lay  on  the  border  between  North 
and  South.  It  was  the  most  northerly  of  the  slavehold- 
ing  states  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  the  system 
of  slavery  did  not  have  a  strong  hold  upon  her  people. 
Probably  the  majority  of  her  native-born  citizens  were  in 
favor  of  slavery,  or  only  passively  opposed  to  it,  but  it 
contained  two  hundred  thousand  residents  of  German 
birth,  and  these  almost  to  a  man  were  on  the  side  of 
freedom.  When  the  question  of  secession  was  submitted 
to  the  popular  vote,  the  state,  by  a  majority  of  eighty- 
thousand  votes,  refused  to  secede ;  but  the  governor  and 
nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  state  authorities  were  on  the  side 
of  secession,  and  determined  to  take  Missouri  out  of  the 
Union  in  spite  of  the  will  of  the  people. 

Governor  Jackson  was  in  fall  sympathy  with  the  seces- 
sion movement,  and  with  the  reins  of  power  in  his  hands 
he  made  the  most  of  his  opportunities.  General  Sterling 
Price,  who  commanded  the  Missouri  state  militia,  was 
equally  on  the  side  of  slavery  and  its  offspring,  secession, 
though  at  first  he  opposed  the  movement  for  taking  the 
state  out  of  the  Union,  and  was  far  more  moderate  in  his 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  13 

councils  than  was  the  governor  and  others  of  the  state 
officials.  Earnestly  opposed  to  these  men  were  Francis  P. 
Blair,  junior,  and  other  unconditional  Union  men,  most  of 
whom  lived  in  St.  Louis,  and  had  for  years  been  fighting 
the  battle  of  freedom  on  behalf  of  the  state.  They  believed 
and  constantly  argued  that  Missouri  would  be  far  better 
off  as  a  free  state  than  a  slave  one,  while  the  opponents 
of  slavery  in  the  Eastern  and  extreme  Northern  states 
had  based  their  arguments  mainly  on  the  ground  of 
justice  to  the  black  man.  The  Free-State  men  of  Missouri 
gave  the  rights  of  the  negro  a  secondary  place  and  some- 
times no  ]Dlace  at  all,  but  confined  themselves  to  showing 
that  the  state  would  be  better  off  and  more  prosperous 
under  freedom  than  under  slavery.  They  had  a  good 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  similar  to  that  displayed  by 
the  author  of  the  old  maxim  that  "  Honesty  is  the  best 
policy."  "  Be  honest,"  he  would  say,  "  because  it  is  the 
best  policy  to  be  so,  and  let  the  question  of  right  or  wrong 
take  care  of  itself." 

All  through  the  month  of  April,  1861,  the  plotting  to 
take  Missouri  out  of  the  Union  was  carried  on  by  the 
secession  party,  and  at  the  same  time  there  was  counter- 
plotting on  the  part  of  the  Union  men.  The  secessionists, 
having  the  aid  and  sympathy  of  the  state  authorities,  had 
the  advantages  on  their  side,  and  were  not  slow  to  use 
them.  They  organized  forces  under  the  name  of  minute 
men,  and  had  them  constantly  drilling  and  learning  the 
duties  of  soldiers.  Later,  under  an  order  issued  by  the 
Governor,  they  formed  a  camp  of  instruction,  under  com- 
mand of  General  D.  M.  Frost,  in  the  suburbs  of  St.  Louis, 
with  the  openly-declared  intention  of  capturing  the 
United  States  arsenal,  which  stood  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  just  below  the  city. 

At  the  same  time  the  Union  men  were  equally  active, 
and,  under  the  leadership  of  Blair,  those  who  were  rea^y 


14  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

to  fight  for  the  preservation  of  the  nation  were  organized 
into  a  military  force  called  the  "  Home  Guards."  While 
the  plotting  was  going  on  and  matters  were  progressing 
toward  actual  warfare,  Captain  Nathaniel  Lyon,  who  com- 
manded at  the  arsenal,  caused  the  garrison  to  be  strength- 
ened, sent  away  the  superfluous  arms  and  ammunition 
to  a  place  of  greater  safety,  armed  the  Home  Guards,  and 
on  the  tenth  of  May  surprised  the  secessionists  by  marching 
out  in  force  and  capturing  Camp  Jackson,  the  camp  of 
instruction  already  mentioned. 

In  order  to  have  good  reason  for  making  the  capture. 
Captain  Lyon  visited  Camp  Jackson  in  disguise  and  went 
through  it  from  one  end  to  the  other.  What  he  found  in 
the  camp  gave  him  sufficient  reason  for  action.  Here 
it  is : 

When  the  state  of  Louisiana  seceded  from  the  ITnion 
the  United  States  arsenal  at  Baton  Rouge  was  seized  by 
the  state  authorities,  who  took  forcible  possession  of  the 
arms  and  munitions  of  war  that  they  found  there.  When 
he  was  planning  to  capture  the  arsenal  at  St.  Louis, 
Governor  Jackson  found  that  he  needed  some  artillery 
with  which  to  open  fire  from  the  hills  that  command  the 
arsenal,  which  is  on  low  ground  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

Governor  Jackson  sent  two  officers  to  the  Confederate 
capital,  which  was  then  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  to 
make  an  appeal  to  Jefferson  Davis  for  artillery  from  the 
lot  taken  at  Baton  Rouge,  and  explain  for  what  it  was 
wanted.  President  Davis  granted  the  request,  ordered 
the  commandant  at  Baton  Rouge  to  deliver  the  artillery 
and  ammunition  as  desired,  and  he  wrote  at  the  same 
time  to  Governor  Jackson  as  follows : 

*  *  *  After  learning  as  well  as  I  could  from  the  gentlemen  accred- 
ited to  me  what  was  most  needed  for  the  attack  on  the  arsenal,  I 
have  directed  that  Captains  Greene  and  Duke  should  be  furnished 
with  two  12-poimd  howitzers  and  two  32-pouud  guns,  with  the  proper 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  15 

ammunition  for  each.  These,  from  the  commanding  hills,  will  he  ef- 
fective against  the.garrison  and  to  break  the  inclosing  walls  of  the 
place.  I  concur  with  you  in  the  great  importance  of  capturing  the 
arsenal  and  securing  its  supplies.  *  *  »  We  look  anxiously  and 
hopefully  for  the  day  when  the  star  of  Missouri  shall  be  added  to  the 
constellation  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America. 
With  the  best  wishes  I  am,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

Jeffekson  Davis. 

The  cannon  and  ammunition  reached  St.  Louis  on  the 
eighth  of  May,  and  Avere  immediately  sent  to  Camp  Jack- 
son. The  negotiations  for  tliem  had  been  known  to  Blair 
and  Lyon,  and  as  soon  as  they  learned  of  the  arrival  of 
the  material  which  would  be  so  useful  in  capturing  the 
arsenal,  they  determined  to  act.  Captain  Lyon,  as  before 
stated,  went  in  disguise  through  the  camp  on  the  ninth, 
saw  with  his  own  eyes  the  cannon  and  ammunition, 
learned  that  they  had  come  from  Baton  Rouge,  and  was 
told  for  what  purpose  they  were  intended. 

Here  was  the  stolen  property  of  the  United  States  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  the  government,  and  intended 
to  be  used  for  further  thefts  by  violence.  There  could  be 
no  doubt  of  his  duty  in  the  matter,  except  in  the  mind  of 
a  secessionist  or  his  sympathizer. 

By  the  secessionists  the  capture  of  Camp  Jackson  was 
looked  upon  as  a  great  outrage,  for  which  the  Union  men 
had  no  authority  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  either 
of  the  United  States  or  of  the  state  of  Missouri.  It  was  a 
peculiar  circumstance  of  the  opening  months  of  the  rebell- 
ion, and  in  fact  all  through  it,  that  the  rebels  and  their 
sympathizers  were  constantly  invoking  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  wherever  it  could  be  brought  to  bear 
against  the  supporters  of  the  government ;  so  much  was 
this  the  case  that  in  time  it  came  to  be  almost  a  certainty 
that  any  man  who  prated  about  the  Constitution  was  on 
the  side  of  the  rebellion.     The  men  who  were  ready  to 


16  TBE  LOST  ARMY. 

violate  it  were  those  who  constantly  sought  to  shield 
themselves  behind  it. 

As  an  illustration  of  this  state  of  affairs,  may  be  cited 
the  letter  of  Governor  Jackson  in  reply  to  the  proclama- 
tion of  President  Lincoln  calling  for  seventy-five  thousand 
troops  for  three  months,  "  to  maintain  the  honor,  the  in- 
tegrity and  the  existence  of  our  National  Union,  and  the 
perpetuity  of  popular  government ;  *  *  *  and  to  repossess 
the  forts,  places,  and  property  which  have  been  seized 
from  the  Union." 

Missouri  was  called  upon  for  four  regiments  of  militia 
as  her  quota  of  tlie  seventy-five  thousand.  Governor 
Jackson  replied  to  the  president  that  he  considered  the 
requisition  "illegal,  unconstitutional  and  revolutionary  in 
its  objects,  inhuman  and  diabolical,  and  cannot  be  com- 
plied with."  At  the  same  time  he  was  going  on  with 
preparations  for  carrying  the  state  out  of  the  Union,  con- 
trary to  the  desires  of  a  majority  of  its  inhabitants,  as  if 
they  had  no  rights  that  he  was  bound  to  respect! 

As  before  stated,  the  arsenal  at  St.  Louis  is  completely 
dominated  by  the  range  of  hills  beyond  it,  and  a  military 
force  having  possession  of  these  hills  would  have  the  ar- 
senal in  its  control.  The  secession  leaders  laid  their  plans 
to  take  possession  of  these  hills  in  order  to  capture  the  ar- 
senal. Learning  of  their  intentions.  Captain  Lyon  threw 
up  a  line  of  defensive  works  in  the  streets  outside  the 
walls  of  the  arsenal,  whereupon  the  secessionists  invoked 
the  local  laws  and  endeavored  to  convince  him  that  he 
had  no  right  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  The  board  of 
police  commissioners  ordered  him  to  keep  his  men  inside 
the  walls  of  the  arsenal,  but  he  refused  to  do  so,  and 
for  this  he  was  loudly  denounced  as  a  violator  of  the 
law. 

There  were  about  seven  hundred  men  in  Camp  Jackson, 
under  command   of  General  Frost.     Captain  Lyon  had 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  17 

issued  arms  to  several  regiments  of  the  Home  Guards  of 
St.  Louis,  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  the  police  commission- 
ers, who  considered  his  action  in  doing  so  highly  improper. 
These  regiments,  added  to  the  regular  soldiers  composing 
the  garrison  at  the  arsenal,  gave  Captain  Lyon  a  force  of 
six  or  seven  thousand  men,  with  which  he  marched  out  on 
Friday,  the  tenth  of  May,  surrounded  Camp  Jackson,  and 
demanded  its  surrender.  Lender  the  circumstances  Gen- 
eral Frost  could  do  nothing  else  than  surrender,  which  he 
did  at  once.  The  militia  stacked  their  arms  and  were 
marched  out  on  their  way  to  the  arsenal.  A  short  dis- 
tance from  the  camp  they  were  halted  for  some  time,  and 
during  the  halt  a  large  crowd  of  people  collected,  nearly 
all  of  them  being  friends  of  the  prisoners  or  sympathizers 
with  secession. 

Most  of  the  Home  Guards  were  Germans,  and  during 
the  halt  they  were  reviled  with  all  the  epithets  with 
which  the  tongues  of  the  secession  sympathizers  were 
familiar.  These  epithets  comprised  all  the  profanity  and 
vulgarity  known  to  the  English  language  in  its  vilest 
aspects,  and  added  to  them  was  the  opprobrious  name  of 
"  Dutch  blackguards,"  which  was  applied  in  consequence 
of  one  of  the  companies  calling  itself  Die  Schioartze  Garde. 
Without  orders,  some  of  the  soldiers  fired  on  the  jeering 
mob ;  the  fire  passed  along  the  line  until  several  com- 
panies had  emptied  their  rifles,  and  twenty-eight  people 
fell,  killed  or  mortally  wounded,  among  them  being 
three  prisoners.  Then  the  firing  ceased  as  suddenly 
as  it  began,  and  the  prisoners  were  marched  to  the 
arsenal. 

On  the  eleventh  all  the  captured  men  were  liberated  on 
their  parole  not  to  bear  arras  against  the  LTnited  States. 
One  officer,  Captain  Emmett  McDonald,  refused  to  accept 
release  on  this  condition,  and  like  a  true  secessionist 
sought  his  remedy  through  the  Constitution  and  the  laws 
2 


18  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

of  the  country.  It  took  a  long  time  to  secure  it,  but 
eventually  he  was  liberated  on  a  technicality,  went  South 
and  joined  the  Southern  cause,  and  was  killed  in  battle 
not  long  afterward. 

"  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  Jack  and  Harry?"  the 
impatient  reader  asks.    We  shall  very  soon  find  out. 


THE  LOST  AR3iY.  19 


CHAPTER   III. 

SECESSION    IDEAS    OF    NEUTRALITY. 

For  some  days  it  was  rumored  in  Dubuque  that  the 
Iowa  troops  would  soon  be  ordered  to  march  into  the 
neigliboring  state  of  Missouri. 

There  was  gi-eat  excitement  wlien,  on  the  morning  of 
the  eleventli  of  May,  the  particulars  of  occurrences  of  the 
day  before  in  St.  Louis  were  published.  Jack  read  about 
it  in  the  morning  paper  and  then  hurried  to  Harry's  house 
as  fast  as  liis  young  feet  could  carry  him. 

"  This  means  business,"  said  Jack,  as  he  quickly  nar- 
rated to  Harry  what  he  had  read. 

"  So  it  does,"  was  the  response ;  "  we  '11  surely  be  off 
before  many  days.     Let  's  go  to  camp." 

Away  they  went,  and  found,  as  they  expected,  that 
everybody  expected  to  move  to  the  front  very  shortly. 

"  We  are  pretty  nearly  ready  for  orders,"  said  the  quar- 
termaster, "  and  you  'd  better  come  here  twice  a  day,  if  not 
oftener,  to  make  sure  that  you  don't  get  left.  Watch 
the  newspapers  and  see  what  happens  in  Missouri  for  the 
next  few  days,  as  it  will  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  our 
movements." 

The  boys  did  as  they  were  directed,  and,  what  was 
more,  they  went  to  a  tailor  and  bought  suits  resembling 
those  worn  by  the  soldiers.  They  were  not  entitled  to 
receive  uniforms  from  the  quartermaster,  as  they  had  not 
been  enlisted  or  regularly  employed,  and,  therefore,  their 
outfits  were  paid  for  out  of  their  own  pockets.    But  the 


20  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

clothes  they  wanted  were  not  costly,  and  therefore  their 
outfits  did  not  cost  them  mucli. 

There  was  more  news  of  importance  the  next  day,  and 
if  the  excitement  was  great  in  Dubuque,  it  was  nothing 
to  that  in  St.  Louis. 

According  to  the  histories  of  the  time,  it  occurred  in 
this  wise : 

A  regiment  of  the  Home  Guards  was  marching  from 
the  arsenal  to  its  barracks,  which  lay  at  the  other  side 
of  the  city,  and  while  on  its  way  it  encountered  a  dense 
multitude  which  blocked  the  street.  The  crowd  being 
almost  wholly  composed  of  secessionists,  many  of  whom 
were  armed  with  pistols,  a  pistol-shot  was  fired  at  the 
soldiers,  whereupon  the  latter  opened  fire,  killing  eight 
men  and  wounding  several  others.  Then  the  regiment 
continued  to  its  barracks  and  was  not  further  mo- 
lested. 

A  rumor  went  around  among  the  secessionists  that  the 
Germans  had  threatened  to  kill  everybody  who  did  not 
agree  with  them,  and  a  general  massacre  was  seriously 
feared.  The  police  commissioners  and  the  mayor  asked 
to  have  the  Home  Guards  sent  away  from  the  city,  and 
though  General  Harney,  the  commander  of  the  depart- 
ment, promised  to  comply  with  their  request,  he  was  soon 
convinced  by  Blair  and  Lyon  that  it  could  not  be  done 
without  giving  the  city  into  the  hands  of  the  secessionists. 
Then  came  a  rumor  that  the  Home  Guards  had  refused 
to  obey  the  orders  of  General  Harney,  and  were  about  to 
begin  the  destruction  of  the  city  and  the  murder  of  its 
inhabitants. 

A  panic  followed,  and  on  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  of 
May  thousands  of  women  and  children  were  sent  out  of 
the  city ;  the  ferry-boats  were  crowded  to  their  utmost 
capacity,  and  extra  steamboats  were  pressed  into  service 
to  convey  the  people  to  places  of    safety.      Quiet  was 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  21 

not  restored  until  two  companies  of  regular  soldiers 
were  brought  into  the  city  and  General  Harney  had 
issued  a  proclamation  in  which  he  pledged  his  faith  as 
a  soldier  to  preserve  order  and  protect  all  unoffending 
citizens.  This  brought  back  nearly  all  the  fugitives, 
but  there  Avere  some  who  never  returned,  as  they  feared 
the  terrible  "  Dutch  blackguards  "  would  revolt  against 
their  officers  and  deluge  the  streets  of  St.  Louis  with 
blood. 

Jack  and  Harry  read  with  great  interest  the  account  of 
these  happenings  in  the  neighboring  state,  and  wondered 
how  they  would  all  end.  They  also  read  the  editorial 
comments  of  the  newspapers,  but  could  not  understand 
all  they  found  there. 

So  they  strolled  down  to  camp  and  questioned  one  of 
the  soldiers,  an  intelligent  printer  from  one  of  tlie  news- 
paper offices. 

"  One  thing  we  want  to  know,"  said  Jack,  "  is  what  is 
meant  by  '  states-rights '  ?  " 

"That  's  what  the  South  is  going  to  war  about,''  was 
the  reply  ;  "  or  at  any  rate  that  is  tlie  pretext  of  the 
leaders,  though  I  've  no  doubt  it  is  honestly  believed  by 
the  great  mass  of  the  southern  people." 

"  What  is  it,  anyway  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  is  the  idea  that  the  general  government  of 
the  United  States  has  no  power  to  coerce  or  control  a 
state  against  the  latter's  will." 

"  Does  that  mean,"  said  Harry,  "  that  if  a  state  wants 
to  go  out  of  the  Union  she  has  a  perfect  right  to  do  so, 
and  there  's  no  power  or  right  in  the  general  government 
to  stop  her?" 

"  Yes,  that 's  what  it  means,"  was  the  reply.  "  The 
states-rights  argument  is  that  the  states  that  were  dis- 
satisfied with  the  election  of  President  Lincoln  had  a  per- 
fect right  to  secede  or  step  out  of  the  Union,  and  the 


22  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

Union  had  no  right  to  force  them  to  stay  in  or  come 
back." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Harry  ;  "  I  think  I  understand  it 
now.  And  how  is  it  with  the  border  states,  hke  Missouri, 
and  the  state  sovereignty  they  're  talking  about  ?  " 

"  The  states-rights  men  in  Missouri  chiim  that  the  na- 
tional government  has  no  right  or  authority  to  call  for 
troops  from  Missouri  to  aid  in  putting  down  rebellion  in 
the  seceded  states;  that  Governor  Jackson  did  right  in 
refusing  such  troops  when  the  president  called  for  them  ; 
that  the  national  government  has  no  right  to  enlist  troops 
in  Missouri  to  take  part  in  the  war,  and  that  it  must  not 
be  permitted  to  march  its  troops  into  or  across  or  through 
any  part  of  the  state  in  order  to  reach  the  states  in  rebell- 
ion against  the  national  authority." 

"  In  other  words,"  said  one  of  the  boys,  "  they  want  the 
state  of  Missouri  to  be  entirely  neutral  in  the  war — to 
take  no  part  in  it  either  way  ?  " 

"That  's  what  they  say,"  replied  the  printer,  with  a 
smile. 

"  But  look  here,"  exclaimed  Harry ;  "  have  n't  I  read 
that  the  secessionists  in  Missouri  seized  the  United  States 
arsenal  at  Liberty,  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  and 
took  possession  of  all  the  cannon,  small-arms  and  ammu- 
nition they  found  there  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  And  have  n't  I  read  about  how  they  planned  to  cap- 
ture the  St.  Louis  arsenal,  and  Jeff  Davis  sent  them 
some  artillery  and  annnunition  for  that  purpose,  and 
wrote  them  a  letter  saying  exactly  what  the  cannon 
were  to  be  used  for,  and  how  they  were  to  be  placed  on 
the  hills  behind  the  arsenal  in  order  to  batter  down  the 
walls  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  read  that,  and  it 's  all  true." 

"  That  's  what  they  call  neutrality,   is   it  ?    Do  they 


THE  LOST  ARMT.  23 

claim  that  they  have  a  perfect  right  to  do  anything  they 
please  toward  destroying  the  government,  but  the  govern- 
ment does  wrong  when  it  lifts  a  finger  for  its  own  pro- 
tection ?  " 

"  That 's  exactly  what  they  claim  and  have  said  over 
and  over  again  in  their  newspapers  and  through  tlie 
voices  of  their  speakers,  and  every  secessionist  you  talk 
with  says  the  same  thing." 

"  Well,"  exclaimed  Harry,  after  a  slight  pause,  "  I  don't 
think  much  of  such  neutrality  as  that.  It 's  as  one-sided 
as  the  handle  of  a  jug — a  sort  of  '  heads  I  win,  tails  you 
lose,'  business.  You  could  respect  them  and  believe  them 
sincere  if  they  said  '  hands  off  from  us,  and  we  '11  keep 
hands  off  from  you,'  and  then  lived  up  to  what  they  said." 

Jack  agreed  with  Harry,  and  both  of  them  wondered 
till  they  were  tired  and  even  then  could  not  make  it  out 
hoAV  honest  and  fair-minded  men  as  many  of  the  southern 
sympathizers  undoubtedly  were,  could  call  such  action  as 
that  by  the  name  of  neutrality.  Doubtless  some  of  the 
young  people  who  read  this  story  will  wonder  too,  and 
possibly  they  may  doubt  that  such  was  the  case.  Their 
doubts  will  be  dispelled  when  they  consult  any  of  their 
friends  who  are  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  war  of 
the  rebellion. 

The  events  of  the  tenth  and  eleventh  of  May  greatly 
aided  Governor  Jackson  in  his  efforts  to  carry  the  state 
of  Missouri  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  South.  The 
legislature  met  on  the  second  of  jMay,  and  the  governor 
recommended  that  the  state  should  be  placed  in  a  con- 
dition of  defense,  so  that  she  could  resist  invasion  by  the 
national  forces.  While  it  was  discussing  the  subject  and 
making  slow  progress  the  tenth  of  May  came,  and  with  it 
the  Camp  Jackson  affair.  In  less  than  fifteen  minutes 
after  the  news  was  received  both  houses  of  the  legislature 
had  passed  the  so-called  military  bill  providing  for  arming 


24  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

the  state,  and  it  was  ready  to  be  signed  by  tlie  governor 
and  become  a  law. 

Five  days  later  the  legislature  adjourned,  after  passing 
other  acts  throwing  the  state  on  the  side  of  secession, 
appropriating  two  million  dollars  for  military  purposes, 
in  addition  to  the  school  fund  and  all  other  money  be- 
longing to  the  state.  Tlie  greatest  alarm  prevailed,  as 
the  wildest  stories  were  circulated  about  the  bloodthirst- 
iness  of  the  Germans,  who  composed  the  greater  part  of 
the  Home  Guards  organized  for  the  defense  of  St.  Louis. 
On  a  rumor  that  two  regiments  of  them  were  approach- 
the  capital  a  railway  bridge  over  the  Gasconade  River 
was  partially  destroyed,  and  many  people  fled  fom  the 
city. 

The  president  of  the  United  States  removed  General 
Harney  from  the  command  of  the  department,  and  ap- 
pointed Lyon,  who  had  been  promoted  to  brigadier-general 
of  volunteers  in  his  stead.  Troops  in  Kansas,  Iowa  and 
Illinois  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to  move  into  Missouri, 
and  everything  indicated  that  the  government  was  deter- 
mined to  put  a  stop  to  the  so-called  neutrality  of  the 
state.  The  neutrality  was  well  illustrated  by  the  circum- 
stances that  in  all  parts  of  the  state  the  Union  men  were 
the  victims  of  outrages  at  the  hands  of  their  secessionist 
neighbors. 

For  no  other  offense  than  being  in  favor  of  the  LTnion 
and  opposed  to  Secession  men  were  dragged  from  their 
beds  at  night  and  ordered  to  leave  the  neighborhood 
within  twenty-four  hours,  their  houses  and  barns  were 
burned,  their  cattle  and  horses  stolen,  work  in  the  fields 
was  suspended,  and  everything  was  the  reverse  of  peace- 
ful. By  an  agreement  between  General  Harney  on  the 
Union  side  and  General  Price  on  behalf  of  the  state  au- 
thorities, the  operations  of  tlie  military  bill  had  been  sus- 
pended, and  the  volunteers  which  it  called  together  were 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  25 

to  be  sent  to  their  homes.  But  instead  of  going  there 
tliey  were  gathered  into  companies  and  battahons  in  con- 
venient places,  where  they  were  drilled  and  instructed  in 
the  duties  of  soldiers.  Evidently  the  neutrality  that  the 
Missouri  rebels  wanted  was  as  oue-sided  as  we  have  already 
described  it. 


26  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON    THE    BOAD    TO    GLORT. 

The  regiment  to  which  our  young  friends  were  attached 
— the  First  Iowa — received  orders  to  move  southward. 
Everything  was  bustle  and  activity  in  the  camp,  and  the 
hoys  made  themselves  useful  in  a  variety  of  ways. 

As  before  stated,  they  were  to  accompany  the  wagon- 
train,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  make  friends  with  every- 
body connected  with  that  branch  of  the  regiment's 
service;  and  they  were  not  only  friendly  with  the  men, 
but  with  the  horses.  Some  of  the  animals  showed  a  ten- 
dency to  be  unruly,  but  by  gentle  ways  and  words  Jack 
and  Harry  secured  their  confidence,  and  it  was  often  re- 
marked that  the  brutes  would  do  more  for  the  boys  than 
for  anybody  else.  One  of  the  teamsters  asked  Jack  how 
it  was,  and  said  he  would  give  a  good  deal  to  know  their 
secret  of  horse-training. 

"  There  's  no  secret  about  it,"  replied  Jack ;  "  at  least, 
none  that  I  know  of.  My  father  is  very  fond  of  horses, 
and  has  often  told  me  that  he  always  treats  them  kindly, 
but  at  the  same  time  firmly.  If  he  sets  out  to  have  a 
horse  do  anything  he  makes  him  do  it  ;  if  the  creature 
is  stubborn  he  coaxes  him  and  pets  him,  and  keeps  on 
urging  him  to  do  what  he  wants,  and  after  a  while  the 
horse  does  it.  When  he  has  once  begun  he  never  lets  up, 
and  the  animal  soon  knows  that  the  man  is  master,  and 
at  the  same  time  learns  that  he  isn't  to  be  cruelly  pun- 
ished, very  often  for  not  understanding  what  is  wanted." 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  27 

To  show  what  he  could  do  in  the  way  of  equestrian 
training,  Jack  took  charge  of  a  "  balky "  horse  that  fre- 
quently stopped  short  in  his  tracks  and  refused  to  move 
on  m  spite  of  a  sound  thrashing.  All  efforts  to  get  him 
to  go  ahead  were  of  no  use,  and  altogether  the  beast 
(whose  name  was  Billy)  was  the  cause  of  a  great  deal  of 
bad  language  on  the  part  of  the  teamsters,  which  even 
the  presence  of  the  chaplain  could  not  restrain. 

Jack  harnessed  Billy  into  a  cart,  and  after  asking  those 
about  him  to  make  no  interference,  and  not  even  to  come 
near  him,  he  started  to  mount  a  small  hill  at  the  edge  of 
the  camp.  Before  he  had  ascended  ten  feet  of  the  sloping 
road  Billy  halted,  and  showed  by  his  position  and  the  roll 
of  his  eye  that  he  intended  to  stay  where  he  was. 

Jack  dismounted  and  took  the  animal  by  the  head ;  he 
tugged  gently  at  the  bridle  three  or  four  times,  speaking 
gently  and  kindly  all  the  while,  but  to  no  j^urpose.  Billy 
was  "  set "  in  his  determination,  and  did  not  j)ropose  to 
oblige  anybody. 

"  All  right,"  said  Jack  ;  "  if  you  want  to  stop  here  I  '11 
stay  too."  And  with  that  he  pulled  out  a  dime  novel  and 
sat  down  by  the  roadside  close  to  Billy's  head. 

Jack  opened  his  book  and  began  to  read,  while  Billy 
looked  on  and  meditated.  Half  an  hour  passed  and  then 
an  hour.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Jack  made  another 
effort  to  start  the  horse  up  the  hill,  but  with  the  same 
result  as  before. 

Then  he  read  another  hour  and  then  another,  stopping 
once  in  a  while  to  try  and  coax  the  animal  to  move  on. 
By  this  time  it  was  noon,  and  Jack  called  to  Harry  to 
bring  him  something  to  eat.  Harry  came  with  a  slice  of 
cold  meat  and  a  piece  of  bread,  and  immediately  went 
away,  leaving  Jack  to  devour  his  lunch  in  silence,  which 
he  did.  When  the  meal  was  concluded  he  read  another 
chapter  or  two,   and  then  he  took  Billy  once  more  by 


28  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

the  bridle  and  in  the  same  gentle  tones  urged  him  to 
proceed. 

Evidently  the  horse  had  thought  the  matter  over,  as  he 
showed  a  perfect  willingness  to  do  as  his  young  master 
desired.     Without  the  least  hesitation  he  went  straisrht 

o 

up  the  hill,  and  Avhen  they  were  at  the  top  Jack  petted 
and  praised  him,  and  after  a  while  took  him  back  to  camp. 
The  lesson  was  repeated  again  in  the  afternoon  and  on 
the  following  day,  and  from  that  time  on  Billy  was  a 
model  of  obedience  as  long  as  he  was  kindly  treated. 

"  I  believe  a  horse  has  to  think  things  over  just  as  we 
do,"  said  Jack ;  *'and  if  you  watch  him  you  '11  find  out  that 
he  can't  think  fast.  What  I  wanted  was  to  have  him 
understand  that  he  had  got  to  stay  there  all  day  and  all 
night  if  necessary,  until  he  did  Avhat  I  wanted  him  to  do. 
When  he  saw  me  reading  that  book  and  sitting  so  quiet 
by  the  roadside,  and  particularly  when  he  saw  me  eat  my 
dinner  and  sit  down  to  wait  just  as  I  had  waited  before, 
he  made  up  his  mind  that 't  was  n't  any  use  to  hold  out. 
Horses  have  good  memories.  Hereafter  when  he  's  in- 
clined to  be  balky  he  '11  think  of  that  long  wait  and  give 
in  without  any  fuss." 

The  regiment  went  by  steamboat  down  the  Mississippi 
river  to  the  frontier  of  Missouri,  and  there  waited  orders 
to  advance  into  the  interior  of  the  would-be  neutral  state, 
and  while  it  waited  there  was  a  rapid  progress  of  events 
in  St.  Louis,  to  which  we  will  now  turn. 

General  Lyon  had  positive  information  that  the  rebels 
were  preparing  to  bring  troops  from  Arkansas  and  the 
Indian  Territory  to  assist  the  Missouri  state  guard  in 
keeping  out  the  "Dutch  and  Yankees."  Of  course  this 
was  quite  in  keeping  with  the  neutrality  about  which 
they  had  so  much  to  say,  and  if  allowed  to  go  on  it  was 
very  evident  that  the  whole  of  the  interior  of  the  state 
might  soon  be  in  their  control.  Accordingly  he  asked 
for  further  authority  to  enlist  troops  in  the  state,  and 


TBE  LOST  ARMT.  29 

requested  that  the  governors  of  the  neighboring  states 
should  be  directed  to  furnish  him  with  several  regiments 
that  were  in  readiness.  His  request  was  granted,  and 
within  less  than  a  month  from  the  capture  of  Camp  Jack- 
son General  Lyon  had  a  military  force  aggregating  ten 
thousand  men  in  St.  Louis,  and  as  many  more  in  Kansas, 
Iowa  and  Illinois  waiting  orders  to  move  wherever  he 
wanted  them  to  go. 

Besides  these  troops  there  were  several  thousands  of 
Home  Guards  in  different  parts  of  the  state ;  many  of 
these  men  were  Germans,  who  had  seen  military  service 
in  the  old  country,  and  were  excellent  material  for  an 
army.  Opposed  to  them  the  governor  had  a  few  thou- 
sand state  troops,  many  of  them  poorly  armed,  but  they 
greatly  made  up  in  activity  what  they  lacked  in  numbers 
or  equipment,  so  far  as  keeping  the  country  in  a  perpetual 
turmoil  was  concerned. 

It  was  very  evident  that  the  state  troops  could  not  hold 
out  against  General  Lyon's  disciplined  army,  and  conse- 
quently the  governor  made  ready  to  abandon  Jefferson 
City,  the  capital,  whenever  General  Lyon  moved  against 
it.  All  the  state  property  that  could  be  moved  was  sent 
away,  and  the  governor  and  other  of&cials  prepared  to 
follow  whenever  hostilities  began. 

Through  the  efforts  of  several  gentlemen  who  still 
hoped  for  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  troubles  of  Missouri, 
a  conference  was  held  at  St.  Louis  on  the  eleventh  of  June 
between  Governor  Jackson  and  General  Price  on  behalf 
of  the  state  authorities,  and  General  Lyon  and  Colonel 
Blair  on  the  other.  General  Lyon  had  guaranteed  that  if 
Jackson  and  Price  would  come  to  St.  Louis  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  conference  they  should  have  "  safe  con- 
duct "  both  ways  and  not  be  molested  while  in  the  city. 

The  meeting  was  a  historic  one.  General  Lyon,  on 
being  notified  of  the  arrival  of  Jackson  and  Price  in  the 


30  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

city,  asked  them  to  meet  hiin  at  the  United  States  arsenal. 
The  wily  governor  did  not  consider  himself  altogether 
safe  in  venturing  there,  in  spite  of  the  safe-conduct  that 
he  held,  and  suggested  that  the  conference  must  be  held 
at  the  Planters'  House,  a  well-known  hotel  of  St.  Louis, 
and  at  that  time  the  principal  one.  Accordingly  the  gen- 
eral went  there  with  Colonel  Blair,  and  after  a  few  polite 
phrases  the  negotiations  began.  Present,  but  not  taking 
part  in  the  debate,  were  Major  Conant,  of  General  Lyon's 
staff,  and  Colonel  Snead,  the  private  secretary  of  Governor 
Jackson. 

Four  or  five  hours  were  consumed  in  the  discussion, 
which  was  an  animated  one  throughout.  The  governor 
demanded  that  the  United  States  troops  should  be  with- 
drawn from  the  state,  and  that  no  recruiting  for  the  union 
cause  should  be  permitted  anywhere  in  Missouri.  When 
the  troops  were  withdrawn  he  would  disband  the  state 
militia,  and  thus  the  state  would  be  kept  entirely  neutral. 
General  Lyon  insisted  that  the  government  had  the  right 
to  send  its  troops  where  it  pleased  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  United  States,  and  he  would  listen  to  nothing  else. 
No  progress  was  made  by  either  side,  as  neither  would 
yield  a  point.  Finally  General  Lyon  brought  the  confer- 
ence to  an  end  by  telling  Governor  Jackson  it  was  useless 
to  talk  longer,  and  that  in  one  hour  an  officer  would  call 
to  escort  them  out  of  the  city. 

Lyon  and  Blair  went  at  once  to  the  arsenal  to  give 
orders  for  the  movement  of  troops,  and  within  an  hour 
from  the  end  of  the  conference  Jackson  and  Price  were 
on  their  way  to  Jefferson  City  as  fast  as  the  railway  train 
could  carry  them.  On  the  way  they  ordered  the  bridges 
over  the  Osage  and  Gasconade  rivers  to  be  burned,  in 
order  to  prevent  pursuit. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  governor  issued  a  procla- 
mation calling  the  people  of  the  state  to  arms,  for  the  pur- 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  31 

pose,  as  he  said,  of  repelling  invasion  and  protecting  the 
lives  and  property  of  the  citizens  of  the  state.  He  also 
asked  the  Confederate  government  to  send  a  co-operating 
force  into  Missouri  as  soon  as  possible,  and  gave  orders 
for  General  Price  to  take  the  field  at  once  with  all  the 
troops  he  could  muster. 

General  Lyon  ordered  three  regiments  with  two  bat- 
teries of  artillery,  under  General  Sweeney,  to  occupy  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  state,  and  by  the  thirteenth  they 
were  on  their  way  to  Springfield  by  way  of  Rolla,  which 
was  then  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  in  that  direction. 
The  object  of  this  movement  was  to  stop  the  advance  of 
any  Confederate  force  coming  from  Arkansas  to  help 
the  Missourians,  and  also  to  head  off  Jackson  and  Price 
in  case  they  marched  in  that  direction.  At  the  same 
time  General  Lyon,  with  two  regiments  of  infantry  and 
a  battery  of  artillery,  together  with  about  five  hundred 
regular  infantry,  went  up  the  Missouri  river  to  Jefferson 
City,  which  they  captured  on  the  fifteenth  without  oppo- 
sition, the  rebels  having  left  on  the  day  that  General 
Lyon  started  from  St.  Louis. 

At  the  same  time  that  he  gave  orders  for  the  move- 
ments from  St.  Louis,  General  Lyon  telegraphed  to  the 
commander  of  the  Iowa  regiment  to  which  Jack  and 
Harry  were  attached,  to  advance  into  Missouri  in  the 
direction  of  Booneville,  a  flourishing  town  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Missouri,  and  the  spot  selected  by  General 
Price  as  the  rallying  point  of  the  state  troops.  There  was 
a  considerable  amount  of  war  material  stored  there  belong- 
ing to  the  state,  and  by  orders  of  the  governor  an  arsenal 
had  been  started  at  Booneville  for  the  manufacture  of 
cannon  and  small-arms.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  sympa- 
thized with  the  secession  movement,  which  was  not  the 
case  with  the  population  of  Jefferson  City,  largely  com- 
posed of  Germans. 


32  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

Jack  and  Harry  fairly  danced  with  delight  when  they 
found  they  were  to  march  into  the  enemy's  country. 
They  regretted  that  their  duties  kept  them  with  the 
wagon-train,  which  is  not  usually  supposed  to  take  part 
in  hattle,  and  wondered  if  there  was  not  some  way  hy 
which  they  could  change  places  with  two  of  the  soldiers 
and  have  a  share  in  the  fighting.  During  their  first  night 
on  the  soil  of  Missouri  they  lost  a  fair  amount  of  blood ; 
it  was  drawn  not  by  the  bullets  or  the  sabers  of  the 
enemy,  but  by  the  mosquitos  with  which  that  region  is 
abundantly  supplied.  Jack  thought  he  had  spilled  at 
least  a  pint  of  gore  in  feeding  the  Missouri  mosquitos, 
and  wondered  if  he  could  be  fairly  charged  with  treason 
or  giving  "  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy." 


Jack  and  Billy. 


Page  27. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  33 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON    THE    MAECII CAPTURING    A    REBEL    FLAG. 

It  was  a  new  life  for  Jack  and  Harry,  and  they 
greatly  enjoyed  it.  Both  declared  that  they  slept  more 
comfortably  on  the  ground  than  they  had  formerly  slept 
in  bed,  and  as  for  the  distance  accomplished  in  a  day's 
march  it  was  nothing  to  them.  They  cheerfully  gave  up 
their  places  in  the  wagons  to  some  of  the  footsore  soldiers, 
and  trudged  along  behind  the  vehicles  as  merry  as  larks. 

There  was  very  little  danger  to  be  apprehended  on  the 
march,  although  they  were  technically  in  the  enemy's 
country.  In  the  part  of  Missouri  north  of  the  river  of  the 
same  name,  there  were  a  few  straggling  bands  of  state 
troops  under  the  command  of  General  John  B.  Clark,  but 
nothing  like  a  disciplined  force  that  could  offer  resistance 
to  a  well-equipped  regiment  like  the  First  Iowa.  When- 
ever the  regiment  approached  a  town  or  village,  most  of 
the  secessionists  fled  in  dismay,  after  spreading  terrible 
stories  of  the  atrocities  that  the  invaders  would  be  sure  to 
commit  as  soon  as  they  arrived.  Those  that  remained 
were  no  doubt  greatly  surprised  at  the  good  order  that 
prevailed  and  the  perfect  respect  shown  to  private  prop- 
erty. Everything  required  for  the  use  of  the  soldiers  was 
fully  paid  for,  and  instead  of  bewailing  the  visit  of  the  in- 
vaders, many  of  the  citizens,  even  those  whose  sympathies 
were  not  with  the  Union,  hoped  they  would  come  again. 
Later  in  the  war  things  changed  a  good  deal  in  this  re- 
spect, as  we  shall  see  further  on  in  our  story. 
3 


34  TUE  LOST  AEMY. 

One  town  through  which  the  regiment  passed,  and  where 
it  halted  for  one  day  and  a  part  of  another  to  wait  orders 
for  further  movements,  was  reputed  to  be  one  of  the 
worst  nests  of  secession  in  that  part  of  the  state. 

Tliere  was  a  hotel  in  tlie  town,  and  its  owner  had  re- 
cently, so  Jack  learned  from  a  boy  of  about  his  age  with 
whom  he  established  friendly  relations,  given  it  the  name 
of  the  Davis  House,  in  honor  of  the  President  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  Jack  informed  the  soldiers  of 
this  discovery,  and  an  examination  of  the  front  of  the 
building  showed  that  the  former  name  of  the  hotel  had 
been  painted  out  to  make  a  place  for  the  new  one. 

Immediately  a  pot  of  Avhite  paint  and  one  of  black  were 
procured,  a  rough  staging  was  erected,  the  word  "  Davis" 
Avas  painted  out,  and  "  Union  "  took  its  place.  The  pro- 
prietor protested,  but  his  protest  was  of  no  use.  He  was  told 
that  the  Union  House  would  be  much  more  popular  than 
the  Davis  House  could  be  by  any  possibility,  and  when 
they  came  around  again  they  expected  to  find  the  new 
name  retained.  The  proprietor  said  his  neighbors  would 
burn  the  building  over  his  head  if  he  allowed  it  to  remain 
as  it  was,  and  as  soon  as  the  regiment  had  gone  he  set 
about  changing  the  obnoxious  appellation.  But  he  showed 
some  worldly  wisdom  in  giving  it  a  new  name  altogether 
instead  of  restoring  what  might  have  brought  him  into 
trouble  with  future  visitors  of  the  kind  he  had  just  had. 
He  avoided  both  "  Davis "  and  "  Union,"  and  called  the 
establishment  the  "  Missouri  Hotel,"  a  name  at  which 
neither  side  could  take  offense. 

The  boy  who  told  Jack  about  the  hotel  also  informed 
him  where  a  rebel  flag  was  concealed.  It  had  been  made 
by  several  young  women  whose  sympathies  were  with  the 
southern  cause,  and  was  intended  for  presentation  to  the 
captain  of  a  company  which  would  soon  leave  the  comity 
to  fight  on  the  southern  side. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  35 

Jack  hastened  to  Captain  Herron,  one  of  the  officers  of 
the  regiment,  and  told  what  he  had  heard.  The  captain 
sent  a  detail  of  soldiers,  under  the  guidance  of  Jack,  who 
led  the  way  to  the  house  of  one  of  the  principal  inhabit- 
ants of  the  place. 

The  sergeant  in  command  of  the  squad  of  soldiers 
i-apped  at  the  door,  which  was  opened  by  a  servant.  He 
asked  for  the  lady  of  the  house,  and  very  soon  a  comely 
matron  of  forty  or  more  stood  before  him. 

"  We  beg  your  pardon  for  disturbing  you,"  said  the  ser- 
geant; "but  we  want  a  rebel  flag  that  we  are  told  has 
been  made  here  recently." 

"  You  shan't  come  into  my  house,"  was  the  angry  reply ; 
"  and  we've  no  flag  for  you  Yankees." 

She  was  about  to  close  the  door  in  the  sergeant's  face, 
but  the  latter  stopped  her  from  so  doing  by  stepping 
foward  and  holding  it  open.  Then  he  ordered  his  men  to 
follow  him,  which  they  did,  accompanied  by  Jack. 

"  Be  kind  enough  to  show  us  through  the  house,"  said 
the  sergeant ;  "  we  don't  want  to  trouble  you,  but  we  must 
have  that  flag." 

"  If  you  are  after  a  flag  you  won't  find  any,"  she  an- 
swered ;  "  and  as  for  showing  a  lot  of  Yankees  through  the 
house,  I  won't." 

The  sergeant  ordered  one  man  to  stay  at  the  front  door 
and  another  at  the  rear,  and  permit  nobody  to  leave  the 
house.  Then  he  called  the  servant,  a  negro  woman,  who 
had  opened  the  door,  and  ordered  her  to  show  the  way 
through  the  rooms.  Accustomed  to  obedience,  the  woman 
did  as  she  was  told,  her  mistress  being  so  overcome  with 
rage  that  she  did  not  endeavor  to  exercise  her  authority 
over  the  servant. 

Jack  had  told  the  sergeant  that  the  flag  was  hidden 
between  the  sheets  of  a  bed  in  the  first  sleeping-room 
at  the   head  of  the   stairs  ;  consequently  that  was   the 


36  THE  LOST  AR3IY. 

room  which  the  sergeant  intimated  he  would  Uke  to  see 
first. 

The  room  was  found  and  so  was  the  bed,  but  no  flag. 
The  bed  showed  signs  of  very  recent  disturbance,  as 
though  something  had  been  withdrawn  from  it.  Evidently 
the  flag  had  been  taken  away  during  the  parley  at  the 
door.  The  room  was  searched  in  every  part,  but  no  sign 
of  the  flag  was  found  ;  then  other  rooms  were  examined, 
but  with  the  same  result. 

The  soldiers  went  through  the  entire  house,  the  sergeant 
giving  them  strict  orders  to  search  everywhere,  but  at  the 
same  time  to  injure  nothing.  Just  as  they  were  about  to 
give  up  the  enterprise  as  a  bad  job,  a  brilliant  thought 
occurred  to  Jack. 

He  mounted  the  stairs  again  and  went  straight  to  the 
bed  wliich  had  first  been  the  object  of  their  examination. 
Pulling  down  the  bed-clothes,  which  had  been  left  in  a 
disordered  condition  after  the  investigation  of  the  soldiers, 
he  found  the  desired  flag  and  bore  it  in  triumph  to  the 
sergeant. 

Then  the  sergeant  withdrew  his  men,  after  again  apol- 
ogizing to  the  mistress  of  the  house,  who  was  so  angry  that 
she  could  not,  or  would  not,  speak.  On  the  way  back  to 
camp  the  sergeant  asked  Jack  how  it  was  he  knew  the  flag 
was  where  he  found  it. 

"  I  sort  o'  guessed  it,"  replied  Jack.  "  I  noticed  that 
the  woman  and  her  two  daughters  did  n't  stay  with  us 
while  we  were  rummaging  the  house,  but  kept  going  in 
and  out  of  the  rooms,  leaving  the  servant  to  show  us 
around. 

"  I  thought  they  were  up  to  something,  especially  as 
one  of  the  daughters  did  n't  show  up  at  all  while  we  were 
talking  at  the  door  before  we  went  in, 

"  Now,  I  flgured  out  that  while  we  were  talking  with 
the  old  gal  the  young  one  we  did  n't  see  was  taking  the 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  37 

flag  out  of  the  bed  and  hiding  it  somewhere  else.  When 
they  saw  us  at  the  door  they  knew  what  we  'd  come  for, 
and  probably  guessed  we  'd  been  told  where  the  flag 
was. 

"  Well,  after  we  'd  looked  through  that  bed  and  all  the 
room  without  finding  anything,  we  went  on  to  the  next  room. 
They  knew  we  'd  hunt  high  and  low  for  the  flag,  and  go 
through  every  part  of  the  house.  Now,  if  you  'd  a-been  in 
their  place  what  would  you  have  done,  when  you  knew 
you  could  n't  get  out  of  the  house  without  being  seen  ?  " 

"  I  see  it  now,"  said  the  sergeant,  "  though  I  did  n't  be- 
fore. I  'd  have  watched  my  chance  by  going  round  through 
the  halls,  and  put  the  flag  in  one  of  the  places  that  had 
been  searched,  and  there  would  n't  have  been  any  better 
place  than  the  bed  where  we  first  went  for  it." 

"  That 's  just  what  I  thought,"  said  Jack  in  reply  ;  "  and 
when  I  saw  the  old  gal  give  a  wink  to  the  young  one  and 
the  young  one  winked  back  again,  it  just  occurred  to  me 
to  go  to  the  bed  and  have  another  look." 

"  You  'd  make  a  good  detective,"  said  the  sergeant  ap- 
provingly, and  then  the  conversation  turned  to  the  flag 
they  had  captured  and  the  probable  use  that  would  be 
made  of  it. 

"  That 's  for  the  captain  to  say,"  replied  the  sergeant  in 
reply  to  Jack's  query. 

The  sergeant  turned  the  flag  over  to  the  captain  and 
the  latter  duly  admired  it  and  praised  Jack  for  his  acute- 
ness.  The  secession  emblem  was  a  fine  one,  being  made 
of  the  best  bunting  procurable  in  St.  Louis,  whence  the 
material  was  specially  ordered.  It  was  the  regular  seces- 
sion flag,  the  "  Stars  and  Bars,"  and  was  intended  to  be 
displayed  on  the  battlefield,  where  the  rebels  confidently 
hoped  to  put  the  defenders  of  the  Union  to  flight  at  the 
first  fire.  Along  the  center  of  the  flag  the  following 
couplet  had  been  deftly  embroidered  by  the  fingers  of  the 


38  THE  LOST  ABMT. 

young  ladies  by  whom  the  banner  was  made,  and  the  lines 
were  said  to  have  been  the  composition  of  the  maiden  who 
so  signally  failed  in  concealing  the  precious  standard  from 
the  search  of  the  invaders  : 

"  Federals  from  thee  shall  flee, 
Gallant  sons  of  Liberty  !  ' ' 

Jack  suggested  that  they  should  have  added  the  follow- 
ing quotation  from  Robert  Burns,  as  a  suitable  intimation 
of  the  possibilities  in  the  case  : 

"  The  best  laid  schemes  o'  mice  and  men 
Gang  aft  a-gley." 


THE  LOST  AEMY.  39 


CHAPTER  YI. 

MAKCHING  AND    CAMPIXG  IX  THE    EAIX FIRST  SHOTS  AT  THE 

ENEMY. 

When  the  march  across  Missouri  began  tlie  weather 
was  fine,  and  our  young  friends,  as  before  stated,  were 
delighted  with  campaigning  life ;  but  the  fair  weather 
did  n't  last. 

When  they  were  on  the  road  again,  after  the  affair  of 
the  rebel  flag,  they  found  a  change  of  situation.  A  storm 
arose,  and  they  had  the  disagreeable  experience  of  march- 
ing and  camping  in  the  rain.  Old  soldiers  think  nothing 
of  rain,  though  of  course  they  prefer  fine  weather,  but  for 
new  campaigners  the  first  rain-storm  is  a  serious  affair. 
So  it  M^as  with  Jack  and  Harry. 

They  had  provided  themselves  with  waterproof  coats, 
which  protected  their  shoulders,  in  fact,  kept  them  fairly 
dry  above  the  knees,  but  could  not  prevent  the  mud  from 
forming  on  the  ground  nor  protect  the  feet  of  the  boys  as 
they  marched  along.  It  was  a  weary  tramp  through  the 
mud,  and  any  one  who  has  traveled  in  Missouri  knows 
that  the  mud  there  is  of  a  very  sticky  quality ;  in  fact, 
in  most  of  the  western  states  the  soil  has  a  consistency 
that  is  unknown  in  many  parts  of  the  east.  When  dry 
it  is  hard,  and  forms  an  excellent  road,  though  it  is  apt 
to  give  off"  a  good  deal  of  dust  in  specially  dry  and  Avindy 
times.  When  there  is  much  traveling  over  a  road,  and 
no  rain  falls  for  some  time,  the  dust  is  a  great  deal  more 
than  perceptible. 


40  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

But  it  is  in  the  wet  season  that  the  soil  of  the  west  puts 
in  its  fine  work.  The  mud  has  the  stickiness  of  glue  witli 
tlie  soUdity  of  putty.  Eacli  time  the  foot  goes  down  it 
picks  up  a  small  quantity,  very  small  it  may  be ;  but  as 
continual  dropping  will  wear  away  stone,  so  will  continual 
stepping  convert  the  foot  into  a  shapeless  mass  of  mud. 
Five  or  ten  pounds  of  mud  may  thus  be  gathered  upon 
each  foot  of  a  pedestrian,  and  it  does  not  require  a  vivid 
imagination  to  increase  the  five  pounds  to  fifty.  Horses 
"  ball  up  "  in  the  same  way,  and  there  are  many  localities 
where,  under  certain  conditions  of  weather,  this  balling 
up  is  so  rapid,  and  withal  so  dangerous,  as  to  make  travel 
next  to  impossible. 

The  regiment  went  into  camp  that  night  pretty  well 
tired  out,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  some  of  the  soldiers 
wished  themselves  home  again.  But  if  they  did  so  wish 
they  kept  their  thoughts  to  themselves,  and  each  one 
pretended  to  his  comrades  that  it  was  just  what  he 
liked. 

To  pitch  tents  on  wet  ground  is  the  reverse  of  agree- 
able, and  to  lie  down  on  the  ground  and  try  to  sleep  there 
is  worse  than  the  mere  work  of  putting  a  tent  in  place. 
But  both  of  these  things  must  be  done,  except  where 
there  is  no  tent  to  pitch  and  one  must  sleep  without  any 
shelter  other  than  the  sky.  When  our  armies  took  the 
field  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  there  was  a  good  supply 
of  tents,  so  that  the  soldiers  were  well  protected  against 
the  weather ;  but  this  condition  of  affairs  did  not  last 
long.  In  the  early  days  there  was  an  allowance  of  two 
wagons  to  a  company,  or  twenty  wagons  to  a  regiment, 
without  counting  the  wagons  of  the  field  officers  and  staff. 
Later  on  the  wagon  allowance  was  greatly  reduced,  and 
during  the  closing  campaigns  of  the  war  the  luxuries  of 
the  early  days  were  practically  unknown.  Tlie  army 
with  the  smallest  wagon-train  can  make  the  most  rapid 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  41 

progress,  as  a  train  is  a  great  hindrance  in  military  move- 
ments. 

Jack  and  Harry  slept  beneath  one  of  the  wagons,  or 
rather  they  tried  to  sleep,  during  the  steady  rain  that 
continued  through  the  night.  In  the  morning  Jack 
thought  Harry  resembled  a  butterfly  that  had  been  run 
through  a  sausage-machine,  while  the  latter  retorted  that 
his  comrade  looked  as  if  he  had  been  fished  out  of  a  mill- 
pond  and  hung  up  to  dry.  Both  were  a  good  deal  be- 
draggled and  limp,  but  they  would  not  admit  it,  and  each 
danced  about  as  though  a  little  more  and  a  great  deal 
wetter  ram  was  just  what  he  wanted. 

"  Tell  you  what,  Harry,"  said  Jack,  "  it  was  n't  being 
wet  that  bothered  me  so  much  as  getting  wet.  I  found  a 
reasonably  dry  place,  and  thought  I  was  all  right,  but 
just  as  I  was  getting  asleep  I  felt  the  tiniest  little  drop  of 
water  soakmg  through  on  the  side  I  was  lying  on.  I 
tried  to  shrivel  up  so  as  to  get  away  from  it,  bat  the  water 
followed  me,  and  the  more  I  shrunk  the  more  it  spread. 

"  Then  I  thought  it  would  be  better  if  I  turned  over, 
but  in  turning  I  let  in  more  water,  or  rather  I  suppose  I 
made  a  hollow  in  the  soft  ground,  and  that  was  just  old 
pie  for  the  water.  When  I  turned  I  exposed  my  neck 
and  got  a  touch  of  it  there,  and  so  it  went  on ;  at  every 
move  I  got  more  and  more  of  it.  By  the  end  of  an  hour 
or  so,  which  seemed  all  night,  I  was  fairly  wet  through, 
and  then  I  did  n't  care  half  so  much  about  it.  I  went 
to  sleep  and  slept  pretty  well  till  morning,  and  don't 
believe  I  've  got  a  bit  of  a  cold." 

"  I  had  about  the  same  sort  of  a  time  with  the  rain," 
said  Harry,  "  and  agree  with  you  that  the  worst  part  of 
it  is  the  feeling  you  have  while  the  rain  is  getting  its  way  ' 
through  your  clothes  and  you  're  trying  to  keep  it  out ; 
and  all  the  time  you  know  you  can't  do  it,  and  really 
might  just  as  well  give  in  at  once." 


42  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

"  Never  mind  now,"  said  Jack  ;  "  what  we  want  is  hot 
coffee  and  sometliing  to  eat." 

They  had  taken  the  precaution  to  lay  away  some  sticks 
of  dry  wood  in  one  of  the  wagons  before  the  rain  began, 
and  therefore  there  was  no  difficulty  in  starting  a  fire. 
All  the  wood  that  lay  around  the  camp  was  soaked  with 
water,  but  by  careful  searching  and  by  ecxually  careful 
manipulating  of  the  sticks  the  soldiers  and  teamsters 
managed  to  get  up  a  creditable  blaze  by  using  their  dry 
wood  to  start  it  with. 

Hot  coffee  all  around  served  to  put  everybody  in  good 
humor,  and  some  hard  bread  and  bacon  from  the  com- 
missary wagons  made  the  solid  portion  of  the  breakfast. 
Harry  had  secured  some  slices  of  cold  beef  the  day  before, 
and  these,  which  he  shared  with  Jack,  made  a  meal  fit 
for  a  king  when  added  to  the  regular  rations  that  had 
been  served  out.  The  rain  stopped  soon  after  sunrise, 
the  sun  came  out  and  in  a  few  hours  the  roads  were  dry 
enough  to  justify  the  order  to  move  on.  Meantime  every- 
body was  busy  drying  whatever  could  be  dried,  and  by 
noon  the  discomforts  of  the  first  night  in  the  rain  had 
been  pretty  well  forgotten. 

An  hour  or  two  after  the  column  started  on  the  road 
there  was  an  alarm  from  the  front  that  threw  everybody 
into  a  state  of  excitement.  Rumors  were  passed  from 
man  to  man,  and  as  they  grew  with  each  repetition,  they 
became  very  formidable  by  the  time  they  reached  the 
rear-guard.  There  was  a  large  force  of  the  enemy  block- 
ing the  way — a  whole  army,  with  cannon  enough  to  blow 
them  all  out  of  existence,  and  possibly  to  take  the  offensive 
and  march  straight  to  the  capital  of  Iowa. 

Every  soldier  got  his  rifle  in  readiness,  the  wagons  were 
driven  closely  up,  the  rear-guard  prepared  to  meet  an 
assault  that  might  possibly  come  in  their  direction,  and 
there   was   all   the   "pomp,  pride  and   circumstance  of 


THE  LOST  ARMT.  43 

glorious  war "  with  the  band  of  untried  warriors,  few  of 
whom  had  ever  smelt  gunpowder  in  a  warlike  way. 

The  excitement  grew  to  fever  heat  when  some  shots 
were  heard,  and  evidently  indicated  the  beginning  of  the 
battle.  Jack  and  Harry  wanted  to  rush  to  the  front  of 
the  column  and  take  a  hand  in  the  affair,  but  they  were 
stopped  by  the  quartermaster,  who  said  they  would  only 
be  in  the  way,  and  had  better  wait  a  while  until  the  colonel 
sent  for  them.  He  ended  his  suggestion  with  a  peremp- 
tory order  that  they  should  not  leave  the  wagons  without 
permission. 

This  was  a  disappointment,  but  they  bore  it  as  patiently 
as  they  could.  They  were  learning  the  lesson  of  military 
life,  that  the  soldier  must  obey  his  officer  and  each  officer 
must  obey  the  word  of  his  own  superior,  no  matter  what 
it  may  be.  As  a  consolation  to  them,  and  also  as  an 
illustration  of  what  they  must  expect  in  the  army,  the 
quartermaster  told  a  story  about  a  volunteer  officer  durmg 
the  Mexican  war. 

This  officer  had  been  ordered  to  do  something  that  he 
thought  highly  injudicious.     General  Scott  was  standing 

near,  and  Captain  X ,  as  we  will  call  him,  appealed  to 

the  general  to  know  what  he  should  do. 

"  Obey  the  order,"  was  the  brief  answer  of  the  general. 

"  But  it 's  absurd,"  replied  the  captam.  "  Certainly  no 
one  should  obey  an  order  like  that." 

"  Always  obey  your  superior  officer,"  responded  the 
general. 

"But  suppose  my  superior  officer  orders  me  to  jump 
out  of  a  fourth-story  window,"  interposed  the  captam, 
"  must  I  do  it  ?  " 

"Certainly,"  the  general  answered;  "your  superior's 
duty  is  to  have  a  feather-bed  there  to  receive  you,  and 
you  can  be  sure  he  '11  have  it.  That 's  a  part  of  his  busi- 
ness you  have  nothing  to  do  with." 


44  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

This  may  sound  like  exaggeration  to  the  young  reader 
who  has  no  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  military  life,  but 
let  me  assure  him  that  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  It  is  a 
principle  of  army  discipline  that  a  soldier  or  officer  should 
unhesitatingly  obey  the  orders  he  receives  without  asking 
for  explanations.  On  the  battlefield,  regiments,  brigades, 
divisions,  are  sent  as  the  commander  desires  for  the  pur- 
poses of  carrying  out  his  combinations  and  plans.  It  can 
readily  be  seen  that  all  discipline  would  be  gone  and  the 
combinations  and  plans  could  not  be  carried  out  if  each 
subordinate  commander  required  an  explanation  of  the 
reason  why  he  was  dispatched  in  a  particular  direction  or 
ordered  to  do  a  certain  thing.  Now  and  then  there  is  an 
opportunity  which  an  officer  embraces  for  acting  on  his 
own  hook  without  orders,  but  the  experienced  officer  al- 
ways hesitates  lest  he  lays  himself  open  to  censure,  and 
possibly  court-martial  and  punishment,  as  he  surely  would 
if  subsequent  events  showed  his  action  to  have  been 
injudicious  or  disastrous. 

The  battle  turned  out  to  be  no  battle  at  all — only  a 
skirmish  with  some  bushwhackers,  in  which  a  dozen 
shots  or  so  were  exchanged  and  nobody  was  hurt.  The 
advance  of  the  column  had  come  upon  a  group  of  men, 
some  mounted  and  others  on  foot,  near  a  bend  in  the  road 
where  a  small  stream  was  crossed.  The  sight  of  the 
soldiers  had  disturbed  the  group ;  those  who  had  horses 
rode  away  as  fast  as  they  could  go,  while  the  fellows  on 
foot  made  the  best  of  their  way  into  the  bushes,  where 
they  sought  concealment.  They  did  not  obey  the  order 
to  halt,  whereupon  a  few  shots  were  fired  at  them,  which 
they  returned. 

The  shots  only  served  to  quicken  their  pace,  and  in  a 
very  short  time  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  the  fugitives. 
The  quartermaster  explained  to  the  youths  that  the  term 
"  bushwhacker  "  was  applied  to  the  men  who  were  strag- 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  45 

gling  about  the  country  with  arms  m  their  hands,  and 
did  not  appear  to  belong  to  any  regularly-organized  body 
of  soldiery. 

"  Missouri,"  said  he,  "  is  full  of  bushwhackers,  and 
there  '11  be  more  of  'em  as  the  war  goes  on.  They  're  not 
to  be  feared  by  a  regularly-organized  force,  but  can  make 
the  roads  quite  unsafe  for  ordinary  travel.  The  trouble  is, 
a  man  may  be  a  peaceful  farmer  one  day,  a  bushwhacker 
the  next,  and  a  peaceful  farmer  again  on  the  third.  The 
rebels  encourage  this  sort  of  fighting,  as  it  will  compel  us 
to  maintain  a  large  force  to  keep  the  roads  open  as  we 
advance  into  the  south." 


46  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  VTI. 

FROM    JEFFERSON    TO     BOONEVILLE FIRST     BATTLE     IN     MIS- 
SOURI. 

Let  us  now  return  to  General  Lyon,  whom  we  left  at 
Jefferson  City,  which  he  had  occupied  without  opposition. 
The  union  men  gave  him  a  hearty  welcome,  while  the 
secessionists  received  him  with  many  a  frown. 

Major  Conant,  of  General  Lyon's  staff,  visited  the  pen- 
itentiary, which  was  full  of  convicts,  who  cheered  heartily 
as  he  entered.  They  liad  hoped  to  be  liberated  when  the 
rebels  left  town,  and  no  doubt  would  have  been  willing 
to  enter  the  service  as  a  condition  of  getting  outside  the 
stone  walls  that  surrounded  them.  They  had  been  sepes- 
sion  in  sentiment,  but  finding  the  rebels  had  gone  without 
them  they  suddenly  clianged  their  politics  and  shouted 
lustily  for  the  Union  when  the  ofBcer  representing  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  came  among  them.  A  few 
only  held  out  and  cheered  for  Jeff  Davis  and  Governor 
Jackson,  probably  for  the  reason  that  they  believed  in 
secession,  and  especially  in  secession  from  where  they 
were.  There  was  gloom  all  around  when  they  found  that 
General  Lyon  had  no  intention  of  setting  them  free,  and 
that  the  sole  object  of  the  visit  of  Major  Conant  was  to 
see  that  the  prison  was  properly  guarded,  and  ascertain 
that  no  work  on  behalf  of  the  rebels  was  being  carried  on 
there. 

The  editor  of  the  Exmmner^  a  newspaper  wliich  liad 
been  advocating  secession  in  the  most  violent  manner, 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  47 

called  upon  General  Lyon,  and  said  he  had  been  a  union 
man  always,  and  was  in  favor  of  keeping  the  state  in  the 
Union,  though  he  had  thought  differently  only  a  short  time 
before.  There  were  several  cases  of  equally  sudden  conver- 
sion, but  the  general  did  not  consider  these  professions-of 
patriotism  anything  more  than  skin  deep,  Missouri  was 
full  of  men  of  this  sort^men  who  were  in  favor  of  the 
rebellion  at  heart,  but  in  presence  of  the  Union  flag  were 
the  most  profound  unionists  that  the  country  ever  saw. 

As  soon  as  it  was  positively  known  that  the  fleeing 
rebels  had  decided  to  make  a  stand  at  Booneville,  which 
was  about  forty  miles  from  Jefferson  City,  General  Lyon 
started  in  pursuit  of  them.  Loading  his  troops  on  three 
steamboats,  with  the  exception  of  three  companies  of 
infantry,  which  were  left  to  hold  possession  of  Jefferson 
City,  he  started  up  the  Missouri  early  on  the  afternoon  of 
Sunday,  June  sixteenth,  and  by  sunset  reached  a  point  ten 
or  twelve  miles  below  Booneville,  where  it  was  decided  to 
tie  up  for  the  night.  Bright  and  early  the  next  morning 
the  steamers  moved  on,  and  were  brought  to  the  bank  of 
the  river  six  or  seven  miles  below  Booneville. 

The  rebels  had  formed  a  camp,  known  as  Camp  Vest, 
about  half-way  between  this  landing-place  and  the  town, 
and  as  they  had  several  cannon  there,  it  was  not  deemed 
advisable  to  move  the  steamboats  within  their  range 
until  the  infantry  or  artillery  of  the  land  forces  had  made 
a  demonstration. 

In  the  gray  of  the  morning  the  troops  were  landed,  and 
the  bank  of  the  river  presented  a  scene  to  which  it  was  quite 
unaccustomed.  Offlcers  were  hurrying  about  here  and 
there ;  companies  were  endeavormg  to  assemble,  as  they 
had  become  a  good  deal  scattered  in  the  hurry  of  getting 
on  shore  ;  the  artillery  was  dragged  up  the  steep  slope  of 
the  bank  with  a  vast  deal  of  shouting  on  the  part  of  the 
drivers,  including  a  liberal  amount  of  language  that  is  not 


48  THE  LOST  ARifY. 

usually  found  in  theological  works  ;  the  saddle-horses  of 
the  officers  danced  around  in  endeavoring  to  show  their 
satisfaction  at  getting  on  land  again,  and  some  of  them 
escaped  from  the  orderlies  who  were  holding  them  and 
were  retaken  with  difficulty.  Altogether  it  was  a  picture 
long  to  be  remembered  by  those  who  saw  it. 

There  was  no  cavalry  in  the  expedition,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  General  Lyon's  body-guard  of  eight  or  ten  Ger- 
mans who  had  been  specially  enlisted  for  this  purpose. 
These  men,  previous  to  their  enlistment,  had  been  em- 
ployed in  a  butchering  establishment  in  St.  Louis.  The 
story  got  abroad  that  German  butchers  had  been  enlisted 
for  the  Union  army,  and,  as  usual,  it  was  magnified  with 
each  repetition  until  it  seemed  that  every  man  who  wore 
the  national  uniform  was  a  professional  spiller  of  blood. 
Out  of  this  circumstance  grew  the  most  terrific  predictions 
as  to  what  the  butchers  would  do  when  they  got  possession 
of  a  place  or  marched  through  any  part  of  the  state,  and 
it  was  for  this  reason,  among  others,  that  so  many  people 
fled  in  terror  when  they  heard  that  the  Union  army  was 
coming.  General  Lyon's  butchers  were  as  well  behaved  as 
the  most  fastidious  commander  could  desire ;  they  were 
good  soldiers,  obedient  to  their  commander,  and  would 
not  harm  a  fly  except  in  the  performance  of  their  legiti- 
mate duty. 

Before  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  column  was  in 
motion,  the  cavalry  squad  in  advance  and  skirmishers 
thrown  out  for  half  a  mile  or  so  on  either  side.  Very  soon 
after  leaving  the  landing-place  the  road  ascended  a  series 
of  undulating  hills  or  ridges,  and  the  advance  had  not 
gone  far  on  this  road  before  the  pickets  of  the  enemy 
were  driven  in.  Then  one  of  the  cavalrymen  rode  hastily 
back  and  said  that  the  whole  force  of  the  state  troops 
were  drawn  up  on  one  of  the  ridges  only  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  away.     The  battle  was  about  to  begin ! 


THE  LOST  ARMT.  49 

The  regular  soldiers  and  the  First  Missouri  were  ordered 
forward,  the  rest  of  the  volunteer  regiments  were  held  in 
reserve,  and  the  battery  commanded  by  Captain  Totten 
took  position  in  the  middle  of  the  road  on  one  of  the 
ridges  in  full  view  of  the  enemy  on  the  other  side  of  a 
wheat-field  that  filled  the  greater  part  of  the  hollow  from 
ridge  to  ridge.  On  the  ridge  held  by  the  enemy  the  road 
was  filled  with  horsemen,  while  the  men  on  foot  were  de- 
ployed to  right  and  left,  slightly  protected  by  fences  that 
divided  the  fields. 

Captain  Totten  unlimbered  a  twelve-pounder  gun  and 
sent  a  shell  right  in  the  midst  of  the  group  of  horsemen 
in  the  road. 

To  say  that  the  shell  kicked  up  a  great  dust  is  to 
describe  the  result  very  mildly.  It  not  only  kicked  up  a 
dust  but  it  set  all  the  horses  to  kicking  up,  and  though  it 
did  not  kill  anybody,  as  far  as  was  afterwards  ascertained, 
it  emptied  a  dozen  saddles  by  the  rearing  and  plunging 
of  the  steeds.  None  of  them  had  ever  seen  anything  of 
the  kind  before.  It  takes  a  hardened  old  horse  to  stand  an 
exploding  shell,  and  even  then  there's  some  doubt  as  to 
whether  he  will  be  quiet  under  such  trying  circumstances. 

The  opening  shot  of  the  artillery  was  rapidly  followed 
by  others,  and  then  the  small-arms  added  their  noise  to 
the  firing.  Of  course  the  rebels  by  this  time  were  doing 
their  best,  and  the  bullets  flew  thickly,  but  as  is  always 
the  case  in  battle,  most  of  them  were  aimed  too  high. 
Here  and  there  a  man  was  wounded,  but  as  General  Lyon 
had  ordered  all  who  were  not  actually  engaged  to  keep 
out  of  range  no  harm  was  done  outside  the  fighting  line, 
and  even  there  the  bloodshed  was  slight. 

In  twenty  minutes  from  the  time  the  first  shot  was 

fired  the  rebels  were  in  full  retreat  and  the  unionists  were 

following  them.     Not  only  were  the  rebels  in  retreat,  but 

they  were  scattered  and  a  good  deal  demoralized.     In  jus- 

4 


50  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

tice  to  them  it  should  be  said  that  no  commander  ever  yet 
existed  who  could  keep  his  men  completely  together  in 
time  of  flight  under  an  enemy's  fire.  Of  course  veterans 
will  act  better  than  green  troops,  but  even  the  hardiest  of 
veterans  will  straggle  under  such  circumstances. 

The  fugitives  made  no  stand  until  they  reached  their 
camp,  and  even  there  they  did  not  tarry  long.  A  few 
rounds  of  bullets  and  some  shots  from  the  artillery  set 
them  again  in  flight,  which  was  considerably  aided  by  one 
of  the  steamboats  that  had  moved  up  from  the  landing- 
place  and  fired  two  or  three  rounds  from  a  howitzer  just 
as  it  reiiched  a  point  opposite  the  camp.  "  Cannon  to 
right  of  them,  cannon  to  left  of  them,  cannon  in  front  of 
them,"  as  the  Light  Brigade  had  at  Balaklava,  was  too 
much  for  the  rebel  troops  to  stand. 

There  was  something  ludicrous  in  the  appearance  of 
the  camp,  as  it  bore  evidence  of  a  very  hasty  departure  on 
the  part  of  its  late  occupants.  Meat  was  in  the  frying- 
pans  on  the  fire,  half-baked  beans  filled  the  camp-ovens, 
and  pots  of  unboiled  coffee  were  standing  ready  for  the 
attention  of  the  cook.  On  the  ground  lay  a  ham  with  a 
slice  half  severed  and  a  knife  still  sticking  in  the  meat. 
The  camp-chest  of  some  of  the  ofiicers  was  all  spread  for 
breakfast,  but  those  who  had  expected  to  take  their  morn- 
ing meal  there  were  now  in  rapid  flight  for  safety. 

A  cooked  breakfast  should  not  be  wasted,  so  some  of 
our  fellows  thought,  and  they  set  about  devouring  what 
the  fugitives  had  left.  Tents  were  standing,  piles  of  pro- 
visions were  heaped  up,  a  good  many  rifles  and  other 
weapons  were  scattered  on  the  ground,  and  altogether  the 
captors  made  a  satisfactory  seizure.  One  of  the  oflBcers 
found  several  hundred  dollars  in  a  trunk  in  one  of  the 
tents  and  thoughtfully  put  the  money  in  his  pocket,  in 
order,  as  he  said,  to  hand  it  to  the  owner  in  case  he  should 
ever  meet  and  recognize  him. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  51 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    CAPTURED    CAMP — A    CHAPLAIn's    EXPLOIT. 

There  were  no  horses  in  camp,  but  there  were  many 
saddles,  an  indication  that  tlie  camp  was  evacuated  so 
hastily  that  tliere  was  not  time  to  put  the  accouterments 
on  the  steeds,  wliere  tliey  belonged.  The  saddles  came 
handy  to  the  civilian  attaches  of  the  expedition,  and  so  did 
the  blankets  and  a  good  many  other  things  that  had  been 
left  behind.  A  company  of  infantry  was  left  in  charge  of 
the  camp,  and  then  the  rest  of  the  column  pressed  on  in 
pursuit. 

Outside  the  town  there  was  another  brief  halt,  caused 
by  the  presence  of  a  small  company  of  mounted  men,  who 
evidently  acted  as  a  rear-guard,  and  with  whom  a  few 
shots  were  exchanged.  Some  of  the  dignitaries  of  Boone- 
ville  came  out  to  surrender  the  place  and  beg  that  private 
property  should  be  respected,  and  while  they  were  parley- 
ing with  General  Lyon  and  Colonel  Blair  two  steamboats 
left  the  landing  in  front  of  Booneville  and  steamed  up  the 
river.  They  carried  the  greater  part  of  the  fleeing  rebels, 
the  remainder  making  their  escape  by  land  along  the  river 
road. 

And  so  ended  the  battle  of  Booneville.  The  losses  on 
the  Union  side  were  three  killed  and  ten  wounded ;  on 
the  rebel  side  the  number  of  casualties  was  never  posi- 
tively known,  owing  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  state 
troops  fled  directly  to  their  homes  and  stayed  there,  or  at 
all  events  were  not  heard  from  again.     Eight  or  ten 


52  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

were  known  to  have  been  killed,  and  about  twenty 
wounded. 

A  year  or  two  later  an  affair  of  this  sort  would  have 
been  regarded  merely  as  a  roadside  skirmish,  but  at  that 
time  it  was  an  occurrence  of  great  moment.  From  one 
end  of  the  country  to  the  other  the  account  of  it  was  pub- 
lished, and  it  has  become  known  to  history  as  an  impor- 
tant battle.  Politically  it  was  of  great  consequence,  as  it 
was  the  first  battle  fought  in  Missouri,  if  we  leave  out  of 
consideration  the  incidents  of  Camp  Jackson  and  the  day 
after,  which  cainiot  be  regarded  as  battles  in  any  sense. 
It  was  the  first  trial  of  strength  between  the  state  author- 
ities of  Missouri  and  the  national  government,  and  as  a 
trial  of  strength  it  showed  the  power  of  the  United  States 
and  the  resources  and  abilities  of  the  government  better 
than  could  have  been  done  by  a  whole  volume  of  proc- 
lamations. 

Disciplined  troops  were  brought  face  to  face  with  raw 
recruits  who  had  not  received  even  the  rudiments  of  mili- 
tary instruction.  Many  of  them  were  not  even  organized 
into  companies,  but  had  come  together  hastily  at  the  call 
of  the  governor,  and  on  the  day  of  the  battle  were  trying 
to  fight  "  on  their  own  hook."  And  they  learned  the  les- 
son which  is  generally  taught  under  such  circumstances 
— that  such  a  hook  is  a  very  poor  one  to  fight  on. 

The  greenness  of  the  men  is  shown  by  some  of  the  inci- 
dents of  the  day.  Reverend  William  A.  Pile,  the  chap- 
lain of  the  First  Missouri,  was  a  muscular  Christian,  who 
showed  such  a  fondness  for  fighting  that  he  afterward 
went  into  the  service  and  gained  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  before  the  war  was  over.  At  Booneville  he  was 
assigned  to  look  after  the  wounded,  and  for  this  purpose 
was  given  command  of  four  soldiers,  two  of  them  from 
the  mounted  escort  of  General  Lyon,  and  two  infantrymen 
from  the  First  Missouri. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  53 

While  looking  about  the  field  after  the  rebels  had  been 
put  to  flight,  the  chaplain  came  suddenly  upon  a  group  of 
men  who  seemed  uncertain  what  to  do.  Most  of  them 
had  rifles  and  shotguns,  and  might  have  made  it  very  un- 
comfortable for  the  man  of  religion. 

He  hesitated  not  a  moment,  but  drew  his  revolver.  He 
was  mounted  on  a  good  horse,  one  of  the  steeds  taken  in 
the  early  part  of  the  battle,  and  had  all  the  dignity  of  a 
captain  of  cavalry. 

Ordering  his  two  cavalrymen  to  accompany  him,  and 
telling  the  infantrj^  column — of  two  men — to  follow  as 
fast  as  they  could,  he  dashed  up  to  the  group  and  pre- 
sented his  pistol  as  though  about  to  fire. 

"  Throw  down  your  arms  and  surrender  !  "  the  chaplain 
commanded,  in  a  voice  like  the  roaring  of  a  young  bull. 

The  men  dropped  their  arms  to  the  ground,  and  stood 
ill  that  dazed  attitude  with  which  a  cow  looks  at  a  rail- 
way train. 

"  About  face,  march !  "  shouted  the  chaplain,  anxious  to 
get  the  fellows  away  from  their  weapons  before  they  had 
time  to  collect  their  senses  and  make  it  uncomfortable 
for  their  would-be  captors. 

Mechanically  the  men  obeyed,  and  when  they  were  at  a 
good  distance  from  the  guns  that  had  been  left  on  the 
ground  he  halted  them  to  give  his  infantry  a  chance  to 
come  up  and  help  surround  the  prisoners. 

The  infantry  came  up,  and  the  prisoners,  twenty-four 
in  all,  were  duly  "  surrounded  "  and  marched  into  camp, 
where  they  were  placed  among  others  of  their  late  com- 
rades-in-arms. Twenty-four  armed  men  surrounded  and 
captured  by  four  soldiers  and  a  chaplain  is  an  occurrence 
not  often  known  in  war.  The  prisoners  were  mostly 
beardless  youths,  who  had  little  appreciation  of  what  war 
was  or  is.  Only  the  rawest  of  soldiers  could  be  captured 
in  this  way  and  brought  safely  into  the  lines,  and  it  re- 


54  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

quired  all  the  audacity  of  which  the  chaplain  was  capable 
to  carry  out  his  enterprise. 

Booneville  was  entered  in  triumph,  and  there  was  great 
excitement  among  the  inhabitants,  many  of  whom  ex- 
pected to  be  murdered  in  cold  blood  after  witnessing  the 
pillaging  of  their  houses  and  the  destruction  of  everything 
that  the  "  Yankee  thieves  "  did  not  desire  to  carry  away. 
The  poorer  part  of  the  population  was  generally  loyal, 
while  the  wealthier  iidiabitants  were  nearly  all  in  favor 
of  secession.  There  were  some  rich  people  who  were 
stanch  supporters  of  the  Union,  but  they  had  a  hard  time 
of  it  among  their  more  numerous  secession  neighbors. 

A  considerable  quantity  of  rebel  stores  and  arms  were 
taken  at  Booneville  and  in  the  neighborhood,  and  alto- 
gether the  forces  that  were  arrayed  under  the  secession 
banner  suffered  a  heavy  loss  in  things  that  were  valuable 
to  them.  The  hiding-places  of  these  valuables  were  pointed 
out  by  union  men,  who  in  some  instances  desired  their 
identity  concealed  for  fear  of  the  vengeance  that  would  be 
visited  upon  them  after  the  national  troops  should  go 
away.  They  complained  that  they  had  been  very  badly 
treated,  and  several  of  them  had  been  given  a  certain 
number  of  days  in  which  to  close  up  their  affairs  and 
leave  town.  Their  time  of  probation  had  not  ended  when 
the  battle  and  its  result  rendered  their  departure  a 
matter  which  the  rebels  were  not  exactly  able  to  con- 
trol. 

General  Lyon  issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  briefly 
recited  the  events  of  the  past  week  and  warned  the  people 
not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  government.  He  advised 
all  who  had  been  in  arms  to  go  to  their  homes,  and  prom- 
ised that  all  who  would  do  so  and  remain  quietly  at- 
tending to  their  own  business,  should  not  be  disturbed 
for  past  offenses.  The  proclamation  had  a  good  effect, 
and  the  number  recently  under  arms  who  went  home  and 


TUE  LOST  ABMY.  55 

stayed  there  was  by  no  means  small.  Unhappily  it  was 
more  than  offset  by  those  who  responded  to  the  summons 
of  the  governor  and  went  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the 
army  that  he  was  organizing. 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  an  advance  into  the 
southwest  part  of  the  state,  as  it  was  understood  that  the 
rebels  would  attempt  to  make  a  stand  there,  where  they 
would  be  assisted  by  the  troops  that  the  Confederate  gov- 
ernment was  sending  to  help  in  getting  Missouri  out  of 
the  Union. 

General  Sweeney  was  ordered  to  march  from  Rolla  to 
Springfield,  and  at  the  same  time  General  Lyon  would 
move  from  Booneville  toward  the  same  point.  Simultane- 
ously a  column  under  ]\Iajor  Sturgis  was  to  advance  from 
Leavenworth,  Kansas,  through  the  western  part  of  Mis- 
souri, and  the  three  columns  were  to  unite  near  Spring- 
field and  endeavor  to  cut  off  and  disperse  the  rebels  that 
were  concentrating  with  a  view  to  taking  the  offensive. 
This  was  the  plan,  but  owing  to  the  absence  of  railways 
it  could  not  be  carried  out  in  a  hurry. 

The  First  Iowa  reached  Booneville  shortly  after  the  bat- 
tle, and  most  of  its  officers  and  soldiers  were  greatly  dis- 
appointed to  think  they  could  not  have  had  a  hand  in  the 
fight. 

Jack  and  Harry  had  their  first  view  of  the  Missouri 
river  from  the  bank  opposite  Booneville,  and  M'ere  greatly 
interested  in  studying  the  mighty  stream  as  the  ferryboat 
carried  them  across. 

As  he  looked  at  the  yellow  flood  pouring  along  with 
the  rapidity  which  is  one  of  its  characteristics.  Jack  re- 
marked : 

"  I  understand  now  why  they  call  it  '  The  Big  Muddy,' 
as  it  is  certainly  the  muddiest  river  I  ever  saw." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Harry ;  "  but  I  don't  believe  it  is  as  bad 
as  Senator  Benton  said  of  it,  '  too  thick  to  swim  in,  but 


53  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

not  thick  enough  to  walk  on.'  Anyhow,  we  '11  settle  that 
question  by  having  a  swim  the  first  chance  we  get." 

They  had  their  swim,  but  though  they  verified  the  in- 
correctness of  the  distinguished  senator's  assertion,  they 
decided  that  one  must  be  very  dirty  indeed  to  be  benefited 
by  a  bath  in  the  Missouri ;  and  they  readily  believed  what 
they  were  told  by  a  resident  of  Booneville,  that  in  the 
time  of  flood  you  can  get  an  ounce  of  solid  matter  out  of 
every  eight  ounces  of  water  from  the  river. 

"  Look  on  the  map  of  the  United  States,"  said  their  ni- 
formant,  "  and  see  how  the  Mississippi  river  has  pushed 
the  delta  through  which  its  mouths  empty  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  The  land  that  is  formed  there  has  been  brought 
down  by  the  water  that  fills  the  channel  of  the  river  ; 
some  of  it  comes  from  the  lower  Mississippi,  but  probably 
the  greater  part  is  from  the  valley  of  the  Missouri." 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  57 


CHAPTER  IX. 

REGULARS    AND    VOLUNTEERS FORAGING     IN     THE    ENEMy's 

COUNTRY. 

Jack  and  Harry  were  pretty  busily  employed  about  the 
camp  for  the  first  two  or  three  days  following  their  arrival 
at  Booneville.  After  that  time  they  had  more  leisure,  and 
were  greatly  interested  in  many  matters  that  came  under 
their  observation. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  arouse  their  curiosity  was  the 
camp  of  the  regular  soldiers  that  formed  a  part  of  General 
Lyon's  expedition.  When  they  heard  of  this  part  of  the 
force  they  wanted  to  know  what  a  "  regular  "  soldier 
was. 

"  They  are  called  regulars,"  the  quartermaster  explained, 
"  because  they  belong  to  the  regular  army  which  the  coun- 
try maintains  in  times  of  peace.  Compared  with  the 
volunteer  army,  the  regulars  are  few  in  number,  but  as 
long  as  we  have  only  Indians  to  contend  with  they  are  quite 
enough  for  all  practical  purposes.  In  time  of  peace  our 
regular  army  includes  only  twenty  thousand  men,  but  in 
case  of  war  the  president  calls  on  the  different  states  to 
send  volunteer  troops  to  the  field  in  such  number  as  may 
be  wanted.  The  president  called  for  troops  to  put  down 
the  rebellion,  and  the  states  that  remained  loyal  to  the 
Union  have  sent  the  number  required  of  them  in  propor- 
tion to  their  population." 

"  That 's  what  is  meant  by  the  '  quota '  of  each  state,  I 
suppose,"  said  Jack. 


58  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "  The  quota  of  a  state  is  made 
out  according  to  its  population,  and  there  have  been  some 
funny  complications  arising  out  of  this  point.  In  order 
to  have  as  many  representatives  in  Congress  as  jiossible, 
and  for  other  reasons,  some  of  the  new  states  have  been 
overstating  their  population,  or  claiming  more  inhabitants 
than  they  really  have.  Now,  when  it  comes  to  furnish- 
ing troops  on  the  same  basis,  they  are  trying  to  under- 
state their  population,  and  declare  that  they  made  mis- 
takes in  their  previous  figures." 

"  It  is  like  a  man  claiming  to  be  rich  in  order  to  obtain 
credit  or  '  show  off,'  and  then  pleading  poverty  as  a  reason 
for  not  paying  his  debts." 

"  That  's  exactly  the  case,"  was  the  reply.  "  You  could 
not  have  made  a  better  illustration." 

Neither  Jack  nor  Harry  could  see  that  there  was  any 
great  difference  between  the  camp  of  the  regulars  and  that 
of  the  volunteers,  excepting  that  the  former  seemed  to  be 
under  more  rigid  discipline.  When  it  came  to  drilling 
and  performing  the  evolutions  necessary  to  military  life  it 
was  evident  that  the  regulars  were  greatly  the  superiors, 
but  the  youths  naturally  concluded  that  it  was  simply  a 
question  of  experience.  "  These  regulars,"  said  Jack, 
"  have  been  a  long  v/hile  in  the  service,  and  had  nothing 
to  do  except  to  learn  their  business.  Wait  till  the  volun- 
teers have  been  the  same  time  under  arms,  and  they  '11 
come  out  just  as  good  soldiers." 

"Right  you  are,"  said  the  quartermaster,  who  over- 
heard the  remark.  "  It  takes  time  and  practice  to  make 
a  soldier ;  the  raw  recruit  may  be  just  as  brave  as  the 
veteran,  but  one  veteran  is  worth  as  much  as  a  dozen 
raw  recruits,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  has  been  drilled 
and  disciplined." 

The  youths  talked  with  some  of  the  regulars,  and  found 
that  they  had  not  troubled  themselves  much  about  the 


TBE  LOST  ABMT.  59 

causes  of  the  war  nor  the  questions  mvolved  in  the  con- 
test. The  most  they  knew  was  that  they  were  enlisted  to 
serve  under  the  government.  They  were  there  to  obey 
the  orders  of  their  officers,  and  that  was  the  whole 
business. 

It  was  the  same  with  some  of  the  regular  oflBcers  when 
the  war  broke  out,  but  by  no  means  with  all.  Some  of 
them  treated  the  question  of  loyalty  as  altogether  a 
matter  over  which  they  had  no  control ;  they  were  to 
support  the  government,  and  had  no  occasion  to  trouble 
themselves  about  political  questions.  Others  entered 
into  the  political  bearings  of  the  subject,  and  were  swayed 
according  to  their  predilections.  Those  born  and  reared 
in  the  Northern  states  adhered  to  the  national  cause 
almost  to  a  man,  and  served  according  to  the  best  of 
their  abilities,  while  the  majority  of  those  who  came  from 
the  Southern  states  considered  themselves  bound  to  go  as 
did  their  states.  These  men  resigned  their  commissions 
in  the  army  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Confederacy, 
though  there  were  some  who  felt  that  while  they  could 
not  fight  against  their  native  states,  it  would  not  be  com- 
patible with  honor  for  them  to  take  arms  against  the 
national  government.  These  officers  remained  neutral 
throughout  the  war,  some  of  them  staying  quietly  at  home, 
while  others  went  abroad  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  dis- 
turbing influences. 

It  was  a  noticeable  circumstance  that  the  spirit  of 
loyalty  to  the  government  was  stronger  among  the 
enlisted  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  than  among  the 
officers,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers.  In  the  instances 
where  the  forts  and  arsenals  in  the  Southern  states  were 
treacherously  surrendered  to  the  secessionists  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  nearly  all  the  soldiers  refused  to 
serve  against  the  government,  even  when  their  officers 
urged  them  to  do  so. 


60  THE  LOST  AEMY. 

Preparations  for  the  march  into  the  southwestern  part 
of  Missouri  were  pushed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  but  the 
difficulty  of  getting  together  the  necessary  wagons  and 
animals  for  transportation  purposes  consumed  a  fortnight 
of  valuable  time.  This  time  was  utilized  by  the  state 
authorities,  who  gathered  several  thousand  men  at  Lex- 
ington and  marched  thence  in  the  direction  of  the 
Arkansas  frontier,  where  they  were  to  meet  the  famous 
Texan  i-anger,  Ben  McCulloch,  who  was  to  come  north  to 
join  them.  In  spite  of  all  his  activity  General  Lyon  was 
not  able  to  get  away  from  Booneville  in  season  to  head 
off  General  Price  and  the  rebels  that  were  serving  under 
him. 

But  the  rebels  came  near  meeting  another  obstacle 
that  they  did  not  know  of.  General  Sweeney,  with  the 
brigades  of  Generals  Sigel  and  Saloman,  marched  from 
Rolla  in  the  direction  of  Springfield,  and  so  quickly  did 
he  move  that  Price  had  no  knowledge  of  his  advance. 
As  soon  as  he  reached  Springfield  General  Sweeney  sent 
General  Sigel  westward  in  the  direction  of  Carthage  to 
head  off  the  rebels  who  were  supposed  to  be  under  com- 
mand of  Price.  The  fact  was  the  latter  general  had 
already  gone  south  with  his  escort  to  meet  Ben  McCulloch  ; 
the  state  troops  which  General  Sigel  was  trying  to  cut  off 
were  consequently  headed  by  Governor  Jackson  in  person. 

The  two  forces  met  each  other  on  the  fifth  of  July  not 
far  from  Carthage  and  fought  a  battle  which  was  very 
much  like  the  one  of  Booneville  in  the  extent  of  its  casu- 
alities,  though  less  successful  for  the  Union  cause.  Sigel's 
command  was  only  about  one-fourth  the  number  of  those 
opposed  to  him  ;  nearly  two  thousand  of  the  rebels  were 
mounted  men,  although  very  few  of  them  had  any  weapons 
whatever,  a  fact  which  was  unknown  to  the  union  com- 
mander. When  he  saw  this  great  force  pressing  on  his 
flanks,  he  naturally  supposed  his  column  to  be  in  danger, 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  61 

and  prudently  gave  the  order  to  retire  from  the  field. 
The  retirement  was  effected  in  good  order,  and  though 
the  rebels  pursued  a  few  miles  they  inflicted  no  damage. 
The  collision  delayed  the  movements  of  the  rebels  toward 
the  southwest,  though  it  did  not  prevent  it,  and  the 
elation  which  they  felt  over  the  repulse  of  the  enemy  was 
more  than  an  offset  for  the  delay. 

On  the  march  from  Booneville  to  Springfield  strict 
orders  were  given  that  there  should  be  no  depredating 
on  private  property,  the  rights  of  every  citizen  being 
fully  respected.  The  order  was  very  well  obeyed,  but 
it  was  impossible  to  carry  it  out  to  its  fullest  extent. 
Chickens  that  did  not  roost  high  had  a  habit  of  disappear- 
ing at  night  and  never  turning  up  again  except  in  the 
stewpans  of  some  of  the  soldiers  or  possibly  in  those  of 
the  officers ;  pigs  that  strayed  from  their  pens  when  the 
army  was  about  did  not  readily  get  back  again,  but  on 
the  whole  there  was  not  much  cause  of  remonstrance  on 
the  part  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  most  serious  complaint  was  on  the  part  of  the 
union  men,  and  certainly  they  had  a  right  to  say  some- 
thing on  the  subject.  The  situation  was  expressed  in 
this  way  by  one  of  them  who  was  talking  with  an  officer 
in  the  presence  of  Jack  and  Harry  : 

"  Look  a-here,"  said  the  citizen ;  "  why  don't  you-'uns 
go  and  take  Jones's  corn  and  potatoes  and  anything  else 
you  want  ?  He  's  a  secesher  of  the  worst  sort,  and  you 
ought  to  make  him  sweat  for  it.  When  the  state  troops 
went  through  here  they  took  my  horses  and  corn  and 
wagons  and  paid  me  Avith  receipts  that  I  can't  sell  any- 
where for  five  cents  on  the  dollar.  I  tried  to  get  them 
to  let  me  alone,  but  they  said  I  'd  been  saying  I  was  a 
union  man,  and  if  I  was  I'd  got  to  help  support  the  war, 
and  they  'd  take  everything  I  had.  They  did  n't  touch 
Jones,  because  he  's  on  their  side. 


62  THE  LOST  ARM Y. 

"  The  rebels  come  along  and  plunder  the  union  men, 
but  when  you-'uns  come  you  don't  touch  the  seceshers 
nor  anybody  else,  except  to  pay  in  clean  cash  for  what 
you  want.  It 's  a  one-sided  business  anyhow,  and  if  it 
keeps  on  I  '11  have  to  turn  secesh  to  save  myself." 

This  was  actually  the  case  for  some  time  in  Missouri 
and  other  border-states,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  many 
men  who  were  in  favor  of  the  Union  at  the  start  became 
rebels  in  course  of  time  in  order  to  save  their  property. 
After  a  while  affairs  were  changed  and  the  men  who  were 
on  the  side  of  the  rebellion  had  to  suffer  when  our  armies 
came  in  their  vicinity.  The  property  of  all  was  seized 
wherever  wanted.  A  union  man  was  compensated  for 
his  loss,  while  a  pronounced  rebel  had  great  difficulty  in 
securing  compensation,  and  very  often  did  not  get  any- 
thing whatever. 

Later  in  the  war  Jack  and  Harry  became  known  for 
their  expertness  in  foraging,  and  many  were  the  chickens 
and  pigs  that  fell  into  their  hands.  They  had  splendid 
noses  for  scenting  game,  and  when  they  could  not  find 
anything  edible  in  a  section  of  country  it  was  pretty 
certain  that  the  region  had  already  been  swept  bare. 

The  skill  acquired  by  our  soldiers  in  catching  "  game  " 
is  well  illustrated  in  the  way  they  used  to  take  pigs 
while  marching  at  will  along  the  road.  A  pig  would 
make  its  appearance  by  the  roadside  along  which  a  regi- 
ment was  making  its  way.  Some  of  the  foremost  men 
would  throw  out  a  few  grains  of  corn,  and,  at  the  same 
time  word  would  be  passed  along  the  line  and  several  of 
the  men  in  the  rear  would  fix  their  bayonets  on  their 
guns.  Piggy,  all  unsuspicious,  would  be  tolled  by  the 
corn  close  to  the  roadside,  and  as  the  rear  soldiers  came 
along  two  of  them  transfixed  the  creature  through  the 
neck  with  a  bayonet  and  swung  him  in  the  air.  He  was 
caught  in  the  arms  of  two  other  soldiers,  who  speedily 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  63 

disemboweled  him,  and  then  cut  up  and  distributed  the 
meat.  It  was  all  done  without  breaking  out  of  the  line 
of  march,  and  was  characterized  by  the  oflScers  as  a 
"  wonderful  triumph  of  mind  over  matter." 

Chickens  were  the  favorite  plunder  of  food-seeking 
soldiers,  partly  on  account  of  their  toothsome  character 
and  partly  in  view  of  their  portability.  Pigs  and  sheep 
came  next  in  the  line  of  desirable  things,  as  they  could 
be  subdivided  with  ease  and  if  necessary  with  great 
celerity. 


64  THE  LOST  ABMY. 


CHAPTER  X. 

LESSONS    IN    MULE-DRIVING CKITICAL    POSITION    OF    THE 

ARTMY. 

Our  young  friends  were  not  long  in  receiving  tlie  pro- 
motion they  desired  and  certainly  deserved.  From  being 
mere  attaches,  or  as  Jack  expressed  it,  "adjutants,"  of 
the  wagon-train  they  were  raised  to  the  dignity  of  drivers 
each  having  a  team  of  his  own.  It  was  a  promotion 
at  which  they  were  greatly  elated,  though  it  brought 
additional  responsibilities  and  hard  work. 

Shortly  after  leaving  Booneville  one  of  the  regular 
drivers  fell  ill  and  was  left  behind.  His  place  was  given 
to  Harry,  who  had  shown  himself  fairly  competent  to  fill 
it  in  spite  of  his  youth,  and  also  in  spite  of  his  lack  of  that 
accomplishment  of  the  ordinary  teamster,  a  familiarity 
Avith  profanity.  We  have  already  alluded  to  this  pecul- 
iarity of  the  average  driver,  and  the  faith  possessed  by 
many  people  that  mules  and  oxen  cannot  be  successfully 
managed  except  by  an  expert  in  swearing.  But  Harry 
got  around  the  difficulty  nicely  and  very  much  to  his 
credit. 

His  education  was  not  extensive,  and  had  been  confined 
to  the  ordinary  branches  of  the  common  school.  He  was 
proficient  in  the  three  li's :  "  reading,  'riting  and  'rith- 
metic,"  and  had  made  a  fair  start  in  grammar  and  geog- 
raphy. While  wondering  what  to  do  in  order  to  be  al)le  to 
drive  a  mule  team  successfully,  and  at  the  same  time  avoid 
falling  into  the  use  of  profanity,  he  hit  upon  an  idea  which 


r 


^V^,l 


Capturing  a  Rebel  Flag. 


Page  37 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  65 

is  commended  to  all  readers  of  this  narrative  under  similar 
circumstances. 

He  picked  out  the  hardest  names  he  could  remember  in 
his  geographical  studies  and  determined  to  make  them 
the  means  of  propelling  obstinate  animals  and  inducing 
them  to  pull  properly  when  pulling  was  desired.  With 
the  permission  of  one  of  the  regular  drivers  he  practiced 
on  the  teams  and  found  his  plan  Avorked  ver}'  well ;  so 
well,  in  fact,  that  it  received  the  commendation  of  the 
chaplain  and  of  the  colonel  of  the  regiment,  and  further- 
more, the  team  seemed  to  enjoy  it. 

"  Sebastopol "  was  one  of  his  favorite  expletives,  and 
when  he  hurled  it  at  a  mule,  hissing  the  first  syllable 
through  his  teeth  and  giving  full  vent  to  his  voice  on  the 
last,  that  mule  was  sure  to  do  his  very  best  until  the  load 
moved  or  the  harness  gave  way.  In  the  same  manner  he 
found  "  Calcutta  "  an  expletive  of  great  power,  and  so  was 
"  Nagasaki "  and  also  "  St.  Petersburg."  When  he  wanted 
something  of  unusual  strength  for  a  momentous  occasion 
he  informed  his  obstinate  animals  that  "  Vienna  is  the 
Capital  of  Austria,"  or  "the  Dutch  have  taken  Holland." 
Nothing  could  surpass  the  efforts  of  the  team  when  these 
phrases  were  thrown  into  the  elongated  ears  of  the  un- 
schooled mules. 

Harry  imparted  his  plan  to  Jack,  and  when  that  youth 
was  shortly  afterward  put  in  charge  of  a  team  which  had 
been  hired  at  Booneville  for  the  trip  to  Springfield,  he 
repeated  the  experiment.  It  did  not  work  as  well  as  in 
Harry's  case,  but  the  reason  was  found  in  the  fact  that 
Jack's  mules  were  of  Missouri  origin  and  proverbially 
ignorant,  while  those  of  Harry  had  come  all  the  way  from 
Iowa,  and  had  the  benefit  of  a  northern  training.  While 
the  Northern  mules  might  be  supposed  to  have  a  thirst 
for  travel  that  would  make  geographical  facts  sink  deep 
into  their  hearts,  those  of  the  more  southern  state  were 
5 


66  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

content  to  remain  in  their  ignorance,  and,  like  Jeff  Davis, 
"  all  they  asked  was  to  be  let  alone." 

"  You  're  saying  that  in  joke,  of  course,"  remarked  the 
quartermaster  when  Jack  explained  the  reason  of  the 
difference  in  the  animals  of  the  two  states.  "  But  let  me 
tell  you,"  he  continued,  "  that  you  're  nearer  fact  than 
you  suppose.  'Like  master  like  man'  is  an  old  adage, 
and  why  should  n't  a  Missouri  mule  be  like  a  Missouri 
man '?  As  a  general  thing  the  Missouri  people  have  op- 
posed everything  that  tended  to  the  development  of  the 
state.  I  refer  to  the  slaveholding  portion,  or  those  who 
sympathize  with  slavery,  though  they  may  have  no  slaves 
of  their  own." 

"  How  was  that  ?  " 

"  They  were  afraid  it  would  interfere  with  their  system 
of  slavery,  as  they  saw  it  would  bring  in  a  population  that 
believed  in  freedom  instead  of  the  old  state  of  things. 
When  the  Butterfield  Overland  Stage  Line  was  established 
from  St.  Louis  to  California  they  tried  all  they  could  to 
stop  it ;  they  declared  it  was  n't  needed ;  and  they  did 
the  same  when  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Co.  wanted 
to  build  a  line  across  the  state.  They  opposed  the  rail- 
ways that  have  been  built  in  various  parts  of  the  state, 
and  for  the  same  reason,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
the  railways  would  make  their  land  more  valuable  by 
bringing  them  nearer  a  market.  I  have  lived  in  Missouri 
and  know  what  I  'm  talking  about. 

"  Education  has  always  been  much  more  backward  in 
the  South  than  in  the  North,  as  everybody  knows,  and  it 
is  the  system  of  slavery  that  caused  this  backwardness. 
Travel  through  the  Northern  states  and  you  see  a  school- 
house  in  every  village  and  almost  at  every  cross-road,  but 
in  the  South  you  may  go  hundreds  of  miles  without  seeing 
a  school-house.  This  one  fact  speaks  volumes  in  itself  and 
illustrates  the  conditions  growing  out  of  slavery  on  the 


THE  LOST  AB3IY.  67 

one  liand  and  freedom  on  the  other.  A  people  that  do 
not  want  education  do  not  want  railways  and  telegraphs, 
or  anything-  else  that  indicates  progress.  Only  when  the 
Sontli  gets  ]-id  of  slavery  will  it  wake  up  and  adopt  the 
institutions  of  the  North." 

Regarding  the  South  in  the  light  of  the  present  day, 
the  words  uttered  by  the  quartermaster  may  be  regarded 
as  prophetic.  It  is  only  since  the  war  wiped  away  the 
stain  of  slavery  that  the  Southern  states  have  vied  with 
the  North  in  developing  their  resources  and  have  sought 
to  have  a  really  intelligent  iDopulation.  Before  the  war 
education  was  confined  chiefly  to  the  rich  or  the  well-to- 
do,  the  majority  of  the  poor  whites  being  but  little  above 
the  negro  in  the  scale  of  intelligence.  Thousands  on 
thousands  of  them  were  unable  to  read  or  write,  and  those 
who  could  do  so  had  little  knowledge  of  the  rest  of  the 
world. 

Our  young  friends  had  frequent  opportunities  to  test 
the  intelligence  of  the  natives  of  the  region  through  which 
they  were  traveling,  and  many  of  their  experiences  were 
anuising.  One  day  they  talked  witli  a  farmer  who  had 
an  impression  that  St.  Louis  was  the  largest  city  in  the 
world,  and  practically  the  only  one.  He  had  heard  of 
New  York  and  Chicago,  but  had  no  clear  idea  of  their 
location  except  that  they  were  somewhere  in  the  North, 
and  did  not  believe  they  amounted  to  much  anyway.  He 
thought  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  black  man,  who  had 
somehow  been  made  president  of  the  United  States  by  the 
abolitionists,  and  if  his  armies  succeeded  in  conquering 
the  South  the  government  would  be  altogetlier  in  the 
hands  of  the  blacks,  who  would  speedily  proceed  to  en- 
slave the  rest  of  the  population  and  "  have  white  men  for 
niggers." 

Several  times  they  talked  with  men  and  women  who 
were  much  surprised  to  find  tiie  Yankee  soldiers  were 


68  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

white  men ;  they  had  expected  to  see  only  negroes,  and 
especially  thought  it  strange  that  the  officers  were  white 
instead  of  black.  A  woman  at  whose  house  they  stopped 
to  get  a  drink  of  water  said  she  did  n't  mind  the  white 
soldiers,  but  when  it  came  to  the  black  republicans  she 
w^ould  n't  be  able  to  endure  them. 

"  Why,  we  are  black  republicans,  madam  ;  or  would  be  if 
we  could  vote,"  said  Jack. 

"  No,  you  can't  be,"  was  the  reply ;  "  you  're  just  as 
white  as  we-'uns  if  you  'd  only  wash  your  faces," 

The  boys  good-naturedly  enlightened  her  on  the  subject 
by  explaining  that  the  term  "  black  republicans "  was  a 
derisive  one,  which  'the  Democrats  had  applied  to  the 
Republican  party,  and  had  no  reference  to  the  complexion 
of  those  who  voted  the  Republican  ticket.  They  were  not 
sure  that  they  had  convinced  her,  though  they  certainly 
raised  doubts  in  her  mind  when  she  saw  the  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  men  that  inarched  past  the  place,  and  all 
of  them  anything  but  negroes. 

Another  time  they  were  less  successful,  as  the  native 
whom  they  sought  to  instruct  pointed  triumphantly  to 
the  colored  servant  of  one  of  the  officers,  who  was  mounted 
on  a  spare  horse  belonging  to  his  employer. 

"Don't  talk  to  me  that  way,"  was  the  angry  retort, 
"  when  there  's  one  of  your  generals,  a  regular  nigger,  on 
a  black  horse." 

The  joke  was  too  good  to  be  kept,  and  that  evening  it 
was  circulated  through  the  camp.  It  caused  a  great  deal 
of  laughter,  and  for  some  days  the  servant  who  had  been 
the  innocent  cause  of  the  mistake  Avas  addressed  by  his  as- 
sociates as  "  general." 

There  was  no  fighting  on  the  march  from  Booneville  to 
Springfield,  as  the  state  forces  under  Governor  Jackson 
and  (Tcneral  Price  were  on  their  line  of  march  consider- 
ably farther  west,  and  had  a  good  start.     They  were  being 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  69 

followed  by  a  column  from  Leavenworth,  under  command 
of  Major  Sturgis,  but  the  pursuers  were  not  able  to  over- 
take them,  being  delayed  at  the  crossing  of  a  river  which 
lay  on  their  route.  It  had  been  hoped  that  the  rebels 
would  be  caught  between  the  two  columns  of  Sturgis  and 
Sweeney,  and  if  they  bad  been  thus  caught  there  was  an 
excellent  chance  of  a  Union  victory. 

As  the  days  wore  on  after  the  arrival  of  the  Union 
forces  at  Springfield,  the  most  important  town  of  south- 
western Missouri,  the  situation  became  critical.  It  was 
known  that  General  Price  had  formed  a  camp  at  Cowskin 
Prairie,  near  the  southwest  corner  of  tlie  state,  to  wait  for 
the  reinforcements  that  Avere  promised  by  the  Confederacy, 
and  it  was  soon  learned  that  these  reinforcements  had 
arrived  and  Price  was  about  to  move  on  Springfield. 

Altogether  General  Lyon  had  about  six  thousand  men 
under  his  command,  but  many  of  them  were  enlisted  for 
only  three  months  ;  the  expiration  of  the  time  of  some  of 
them  was  fast  approaching,  and  others  were  already  free 
to  go  home. 

General  Fremont  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the 
department,  and  to  him  General  Lyon  sent  an  earnest 
appeal  for  reinforcements,  saying  he  would  be  compelled 
to  retreat  unless  troops  were  sent  to  him.  The  desired 
troops  were  promised,  but  before  they  started  the  rebels 
threatened  Cairo  in  Illinois,  and  the  regiments  destined 
for  General  Lyon  were  sent  there  instead  of  going  to 
southwestern  Missouri,  as  originally  intended. 

Lyon  Avas  receiving  no  reinforcements,  while  Price  was 
gaining  in  strength  and  adding  to  the  effectiveness  of  his 
men.  About  the  twentieth  of  July  Lyon's  force  was 
weakened  by  the  departure  of  two  regiments  of  three- 
months'  men  whose  time  had  expired,  while  tlie  time  of 
the  First  Iowa  (the  regiment  to  wliich  Jack  and  Harry 
were  attached )  would  be  out  early  in  August.    No  wonder 


70  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

General  Lyon   was   troubled  in  mind,  and  that  he  sent 
urgent  appeals  to  General  Fremont  for  innnediate  aid. 

News  came  tliat  the  rebels  were  advancing  upon  Spring- 
field and  that  a  great  battle  was  imminent.  Jack  and 
Harry  were  jubilant  at  the  promise  of  fighting,  but  older 
ones  shook  their  heads  and  looked  serious.  The  secession 
inhabitants  of  Springfield  were  rejoicing  over  the  prospect 
of  soon  being  rid  of  their  Yankee  visitors ;  they  could  not 
conceal  their  delight,  and  this  circumstance  convinced  the 
thoughtful  ones  among  the  unionists  that  the  coming 
clash  of  arms  would  be  anything  but  a  light  one. 


THE  LOST  AllMY.  71 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  TERRIBLE  MARCH A  FIGHT  AXD  A  RETREAT. 

On  the  first  of  August  General  Lyon  marched  out  on 
the  road  to  the  southwest  and  in  the  direction  where  the 
enemy  was  supposed  to  be  ;  in  fact,  where  it  was  positively 
known  that  he  could  be  found.  Most  of  the  wagons  were 
left  behind,  and  among-  them  WTre  those  driven  by  Jack 
and  Harry.  Not  wishing  to  miss  the  chance  of  seeing  a 
battle,  those  enterprising  youths  accompanied  the  column 
by  permission  of  their  regimental  quartermaster,  and  under 
promise  to  return  whenever  word  reached  them  that  they 
were  wanted. 

August  is  a  hot  month  in  that  part  of  the  country  ;  in 
fact,  it  is  a  hot  month,  as  everybody  knows,  from  one  end 
ot  the  United  States  to  the  other.  Only  a  few  miles  were 
made  on  the  first  day's  march  from  Springfield,  but  those 
few  miles  witnessed  the  exhaustion  of  many  of  the  soldiers. 
The  next  day  the  column  moved  on  to  a  place  known  as 
"  Dug  Spring,"  probably  to  distinguish  it  from  the  natural 
springs  which  abound  through  that  country.  And  the 
heat  of  that  day  was  something  terrific. 

Scores  of  men,  overcome  by  the  sultry  atmosphere, 
dropped  out  of  the  line  of  march  and  fell  exhausted  by  the 
roadside,  where  some  of  them  died  from  the  elTects  of  sun- 
stroke. Water  was  to  be  found  only  at  long  intervals, 
and  when  found  the  springs  were  soon  rendered  muddy 
or  were  completely  exhausted  by  the  crowds  that  rushed 
into  them. 


72  THE  LOST  AR3IY. 

In  southwest  Missouri,  as  in  many  parts  of  tlie  southern 
states,  the  spring-  wliicli  supplies  a  residence  is  covered 
Ayith  a  frame  building  eight  or  ten  feet  square,  and  known 
as  the  springhouse.  There  are  very  few  cellars  in  that 
region,  and  the  springhouse  is  used  for  preservhig  milk, 
meat  and  other  articles  requiring  the  lowest  attainable  tem- 
perature in  the  absence  of  ice.  The  spring  that  gave  the 
name  to  the  locality  in  question  was  of  this  sort,  and  a 
small  stream  of  water  flowed  from  it  perpetually,  and 
probably  is  flowing  still.  To  realize  what  happened  there, 
let  us  quote  from  a  letter  which  Harry  wrote  that  evening 
to  his  mother  : 

"  My  Dear  Mother  :  I  have  known  wliat  it  was  to  be  A^ery  thirsty, 
but  until  to-day  I  never  knew  what  it  was  to  suffer — actually  suf- 
fer— for  want  of  water,  thougli  I  have  often  thought  I  knew.  It 
was  one  of  the  hottest  days  I  ever  saw  in  ni}^  life  ;  tlie  road  was 
just  one  long  line  of  dust,  as  no  rain  had  fallen  for  some  time  and 
the  ground  was  perfectly  dry.  We  had  a  little  skirmishing  with 
the  rebels  in  front  of  us,  but  it  was  very  evident  that  we  only  met 
small  scouting  parties  of  them,  as  they  fell  back  very  soon  after 
we  met  them.  But  so  much  did  the  men  suffer  for  want  of  water 
that  they  didn't  care  for  the  enemy,  and  would  have  risked  their 
lives  for  a  cooling  drink  from  a  brook  or  spring. 

' '  We  had  left  Wilson's  Creek  and  Tyrol's  Creek  behind  us  ;  they 
are  little  streams  or  brooks  that  ordinai'ily  contain  onlj^  a  few  inches 
of  water,  but  are  said  to  be  small  rivers  in  their  way  when  heavy 
rains  fall.  We  went  several  miles  without  water,  and  at  length 
the  head  of  the  column  reached  a  large  spring,  Avliich  they  told  us 
was  made  by  digging  in  the  low  ground,  and  for  this  reason  it  was 
called  Dug  Spring. 

' '  Of  course  the  first  men  that  came  to  it  rushed  into  the  little 
springhouse  to  quench  their  thirst  and  fill  their  canteens,  which 
they  succeeded  in  doing.  But  before  they  had  done  so  the  crowd 
around  the  building  was  so  dense  that  those  inside  could  not  get 
out ;  everybody  was  frantically  seeking  for  water,  water,  water, 
and  so  wild  were  the  men  that  the  officers  could  not  control  them. 

"  They  lifted  the  springhouse  from  its  foundations  and  threw  it  to 
one  side,  but  this  didn't  help  matters  any.  As  fast  as  the  men  came 
up  and  the  word  was  passed  that  there  was  a  spring  there,  the 
ranks  were  broken  and  all  that  the  officers  could  do  was  not  enough 
to  keep  the  men  in  place.  Officers  and  nien  struggled  together 
for  water  and  all  distinctions  of  rank  were  lost. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  73 

"The  spring  \ras  soon  exhausted  and  so  was  a  trough  close  by  that 
contained  water  which  liad  evidently  stood  there  for  some  days. 
A  pool  a  little  way  below  the  spring,  wliere  the  hogs  had  wallowed, 
was  eagerly  sought  by  the  struggling  crowd  and  their  feet  stirred 
the  contents  so  that  it  was  half  mud.  Soldiers  had  a  hard  struggle 
to  fill  their  canteens  with  this  stuff,  and  when  they  had  done  so 
and  came  out  of  the  crov.'d  they  refused  to  give  away  a  single  drop. 
One  of  the  newspaper  correspondents  says  he  saw  an  officer  offer 
five  dollars  to  a  soldier  for  a  canteen  full  of  this  liquid,  and  the 
soldier  refused  it,  saying  he  could  not  get  any  more  and  would  die 
himself  unless  he  had  something  to  drink. 

' '  By  the  time  Jack  and  I  got  to  the  spring  the  water  was  all  gone 
and  we  didn't  know  what  to  do,  as  we  were  ready  to  drop  with 
thirst.  Our  tongues  were  swollen  and  almost  hanging  from  our 
mouths,  and  we  felt  we  could  not  stand  it  much  longer.  I  dashed 
into  the  crowd  at  the  spring  and  saw  it  was  no  use  ;  then  I  got  into 
the  other  crowd  at  the  pool  and  tore  up  two  handfuls  of  the  moist 
earth  and  carried  them  to  one  side.  Jack  did  just  like  me,  and  we 
managed  to  squeeze  a  few  di'ops  of  water  out  of  the  earth  which 
we  liad  thus  secured.  We  tried  it  again,  others  did  the  same  thing, 
and  somehow  we  managed  to  get  enough  to  cool  our  throats  just  a 
little. 

••  We  camped  this  evening  on  a  little  creek  a  few  miles  further ,on, 
and  here  we  are.  Tlie  men  care  little  for  food  ;  all  they  want  just 
now  is  to  get  enough  water  to  drink.  The  camp  is  in  great  con- 
fusion and  if  a  well-disciplined  enemj-  should  fall  on  us  just  now 
it  would  have  a  good  chance  of  whipping  us.  They  say  the  rebels 
are  only  a  little  way  ahead  of  us,  and  perhaps  we  shall  have  a  fight 
with  them  to-morrow." 

On  the  next  day  there  was  a  skirmish,  in  which  a  few 
men  were  wounded,  and  the  report  was  that  the  rebels 
had  suffered  severely  ;  but  as  usual  in  such  cases,  especially 
at  tlie  beginning  of  the  war,  tlie  rumors  were  far  above 
tlie  facts.  As  an  illustration  of  this  tendency  we  Avill 
take  one  of  the  battles  of  1861  in  whicli  tliere  were  ten 
killed  on  one  side  and  tliirteen  on  the  other,  and  about 
forty  wounded.  The  Union  commander  estimated  tlie 
rebel  loss  "at  not  less  than  from  three  hundred  and  fifty 
to  four  hundred,"  wliile  tlie  Confederate  historians  said 
the  Union  loss  was  "  from  one  hundred  fifty  to  two  hun- 
dred killed,  and  from  three  hoiidred  to  four  hundred 
Wounded."     One  of  the  best  reports  of  a  skirmish  was 


74  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

that  of  a  commander  who  wrote,  "our  loss  was  nothing; 
the  enemy's  is  not  known,  but  is  certainly  three  times  as 
great  as  our  own." 

Twenty-four  miles  from  Springfield  General  Lyon 
decided  to  fall  back  to  that  town,  as  he  learned  that  the 
rebels  had  a  force  three  or  four  times  as  great  as  his  own ; 
it  turned  out  that  these  figures  were  a  good  deal  exag- 
gerated, but  after  making  the  most  liberal  deductions  it 
is  certain  that  they  had  fully  twice  his  number.  He 
reached  Spiingfield  on  the  fifth  of  August,  and  was  more 
disheartened  than  ever,  No  reinforcements  had  come  to 
him  from  General  Fremont,  and  from  all  indicatious  none 
were  likely  to  be  sent  in  time  to  do  him  any  good.  He 
had  two  alternatives :  to  fight  a  battle  with  great  odds 
against  him,  or  to  fall  back  to  Rolla,  the  terminus  of  the 
railroad,  without  a  fight. 

At  a  council  of  his  officers  it  was  decided  that  the  moral 
effect  of  retreating  \vitliout  a  battle  would  be  greater  than 
after  one ;  unless,  indeed,  the  army  should  be  so  badly  de- 
feated that  escape  would  be  impossible.  The  rebels  ad- 
vanced and  camped  on  Wilson's  Creek,  ten  miles  from 
Springfield.  It  has  become  known  since  that  there  was 
a  bitter  quarrel  between  General's  McCulloch  and  Price, 
and  in  consequence  of  this  quarrel  the  rebels  did  not  come 
at  once  to  attack  Springfield. 

McCulloch  was  carrying  out  the  policy  of  the  Con- 
federate government,  which  just  then  did  not  favor  push- 
ing the  war  into  the  border  states  ;  while  Price  wanted  to 
take  the  offensive  against  the  national  government  and 
push  the  Union  forces  quite  out  of  the  state  of  Missouri. 
He  was  for  fighting  and  pushing  on,  while  McCulloch  was 
opposed  to  anything  of  the  kind  ;  not  on  account  of  cowar- 
dice, be  it  understood,  for  he  was  as  brave  a  soldier  as  the 
Confederacy  produced  during  the  war,  but  for  political 
reasons,  which  have  just  been  mentioned.     He  was  only 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  75 

induced  to  march  upon  Springfield  by  General  Price  giv- 
ing up  the  command  to  him,  and  furthermore  hy  the  threat 
of  the  latter  that  if  McCulloch  still  refused  to  advance, 
he  (Price)  would  alone  advance  with  his  Missourians  and 
give  battle  to  the  Union  forces. 

On  the  eighth  of  August  Price  learned  that  Lyon  was 
fearful  of  an  attack,  and  was  making  preparations  to 
abandon  Springfield.  lie  urged  McCulloch  to  advance 
at  once,  but  the  latter  would  not  do  so.  On  the  ninth  it 
was  decided  that  an  attack  would  be  made  on  Springfield 
the  next  day,  and  the  troops  were  ordered  to  be  in  readi- 
ness to  move  at  nine  o'clock  that  night.  But  the  plan 
was  changed  on  account  of  a  slight  rain  which  fell  towards 
evening  and  threatened  to  continue  during  the  night. 
Many  of  the  Missourians  had  no  cartridge-boxes  and  were 
obliged  to  carry  their  ammunition  in  their  pockets  ;  con- 
sequently, a  rain  would  have  spoiled  their  cartridges  and 
made  these  soldiers  useless  in  a  fight. 

To  what  slight  causes  do  we  often  owe  the  course  of 
events ! 

The  rain  which  stopped  the  Confederate  advance  did 
not  interfere  with  the  plan  which  General  Lyon  formed 
during  the  day  after  consultation  with  his  officers.  It  was 
to  move  out  on  the  night  of  the  ninth  and  be  ready  to  at- 
tack by  daylight  on  the  tenth.  The  rebels  were  camped 
along  Wilson's  Creek  for  a  distance  altogether  of  about 
three  miles,  and  it  was  not  likely  that  they  expected 
General  Lyon  would  seek  to  trouble  them  with  his  greatly 
inferior  numbers.  As  they  expected  to  move  at  daylight, 
to  attack  Springfield,  they  had  drawn  in  their  pickets,  and 
consequently  were  not  aware  of  the  Union  advance  until 
it  was  close  upon  them.  General  Lyon's  plan  was  to 
attack  both  ends  of  the  rebel  camp  at  the  same  time, 
and  for  this  purpose  he  divided  his  forces,  sending 
General  Sigel  with  his  own  and  Colonel  Solomon's  regi- 


76  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

ments  of  infantry,  a  battery  of  six  guns  and  two  com- 
panies of  ]-egular  cavalry  to  attack  the  right  wing  of  the 
rebels  on  the  east  side  of  the  Fayetteville  road.  At  the 
same  time  he  proposed,  with  the  remainder  of  the  Union 
forces,  to  fall  upon  the  other  wing  of  the  enemy's  camp. 
The  movements  were  to  be  so  timed  that  the  attack  would 
be  made  at  daylight,  and  General  Sigel,  in  case  he  got  first 
into  position,  was  to  wait  for  the  sound  of  General  Lyon's 
guns. 

On  this  plan  the  two  forces  marched  out  of  Springfield 
on  the  evening  of  the  ninth.  To  how  many  men  was  that 
the  last  march,  including  the  brave  commander  of  the 
Union  army  of  southwest  Missouri ! 

Each  column  by  midnight  had  reached  a  point  about 
four  miles  from  the  rebel  camp,  and  within  sight  of  some 
of  the  rebel  camp-fires.  There  the  men  bivouacked  on  the 
field,  and  waited  anxiously  for  the  coming  dawn.  Day- 
light glimmered  at  length  in  the  east,  and,  with  as  much 
silence  as  is  possible  to  an  advancing  army,  the  march  was 
resumed. 


TH£  LOST  AIi3IY.  77 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BATTLE  OF  WILSOn's  CKEEK. DEATH  OF  GENEKAL  LYON. 

Heke  is  a  description  of  the  battlefield  of  the  tenth  of 
August,  1861,  by  a  gentleman  who  was  there  on  that  oc- 
casion, and  afterward  visited  the  spot  when  he  could  do 
so  without  danger  from  shells  and  bullets. 

As  you  go  south  from  Springfield  there  is  a  compara- 
tively level  country  for  several  nnles,  but  in  approaching 
the  creek  which  gives  the  name  to  the  battlefield 
you  find  a  more  broken  region.  The  valley  of  the  creek 
is  bordered  by  low  hills,  and  at  the  time  of  the  fight 
these  hills  were  covered  with  scrub-oaks,  which  were 
generally  known  to  the  natives  as  "  black-jacks."  These 
trees  are  so  thickly  scattered  in  many  places  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  see  for  any  distance,  and  on  the  day  of  the 
battle  they  masked  the  movements  of  the  opposing 
armies  from  each  other  and  led  to  several  surprises. 

The  Fayetteville  road  going  south  crosses  the  creek  at 
a  ford  and  then  runs  almost  parallel  to  the  course  of 
the  stream  for  nearly  a  mile.  On  this  part  of  the  road  and 
along  the  creek  the  main  body  of  the  Confederates  was 
encamped,  and  the  camp  extended  up  a  tributary  of 
Wilson's  Creek  known  as  Skegg's  Branch.  Between 
Skegg's  Branch  and  its  junction  with  ^Vilson's  Creek  is  a 
steep  hill,  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  high,  its  sides  seamed 
with  ravines  and  its  toj:)  broken  with  rocks  in  many  places, 
so  that  wagons  and  artillery  cannot  be  freely  moved  about. 


78  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

This  was  known  as  Oak  Ilill  at  the  time  of  the  battle,  and 
has  since  been  called  Bloody  Hill  by  the  Confederates  in 
memory  of  the  slaughter  that  took  place  there.  It  was 
the  scene  of  the  principal  fighting  of  the  day  and  of  the 
death  of  General  Lyon. 

During  the  war  it  often  happened  that  engagements 
were  called  by  different  names  by  the  opposing  forces. 
Thus  the  battle  now  known  as  that  of  Shiloh  was  origin- 
ally called  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing  by  the  Northern 
side  and  Shiloh  by  the  South.  The  battle  of  Pea  Ridge 
was  so  named  by  the  Northerners,  but  it  was  known 
as  Elkhorn  Tavern  by  the  Soutli.  Li  the  same  way 
the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  as  the  North  knew  it,  Avas 
the  battle  of  Oak  Hill  to  the  South.  In  fact,  it  had  three 
names,  as  General  Price  in  his  official  report  called  it  the 
l)attle  of  Springfield. 

Oak  Hill,  or  Bloody  Hill,  was  covered  with  low  bushes 
in  addition  to  the  scrub-oaks  already  mentioned,  but  the 
underbrush  was  not  thick,  and  did  not  particularly  inter- 
fere with  movements  of  troops  or  individuals,  thougli  it 
caused  the  lines  of  the  soldiers  to  be  considerably  broken, 
and  furnished  a  complete  screen  to  men  lying  down.  The 
rebels  were  camped  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  its  summit 
afl:'orded  a  good  view  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Confederate 
position. 

General  Lyon  reached  the  farther  slope  of  the  hill 
before  his  approach  was  discovered.  His  advance  was 
first  made  known  to  the  Missourians,  who  were  camped 
in  that  vicinity,  and  whose  commander  liad  sent  out  a 
picivct  about  daylight.  Tlie  fii'st  encounter  was  between 
Captain  Plunnner's  battalion  of  regulars  and  Colonel 
Hunter's  Missouri  regiment,  the  latter  falling  back  as  their 
commander  saw  the  strength  of  the  forces  opposed  to  him. 
General  Lyon  advanced  as  rapidly  as  jjossible,  and  soon 
had  possession  of  the  crest  of  the  hill. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  79 

The  whole  force  of  General  Lyon  which  he  had  on  the 
field  on  that  terrible  morning  was  about  live  thousand  five 
hundred  men,  of  whom  one  thousand  two  liundred  were 
with  General  Sigel  and  three  thousand  three  hundred 
under  his  own  personal  direction.  General  Sigel's  forces 
have  been  enumerated.  Those  of  General  Lyon  were 
Captain  Plumraer's  regulars,  the  batteries  of  Captains 
Totten  and  Dubois — ten  guns  in  all.  Steel's  battalion  of 
three  hundred  regulars,  Osterhaus's  battalion  of  volun- 
teer infantry,  and  the  volunteer  regiments  of  the  First 
Missouri,  First  Iowa  and  First  and  Second  Kansas.  Ac- 
cording to  their  own  figures  the  Confederates  were  ten 
thousand  one  hundred  seventy-five  strong,  about  half  of 
them  belonging  to  the  Missouri  state  guard  and  the  other 
half  to  the  forces  that  had  been  sent  from  Arkansas  and 
Louisiana  to  aid  the  Missourians  in  recapturing  the  state 
from  the  national  government. 

Let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  General  Sigel.  Ilis  part  of 
the  plan  of  attack  was  perfectly  carried  out.  He  arrived 
before  daylight  in  the  position  assigned  to  him  and  had 
his  guns  in  position  and  his  troops  drawn  up  ready  to 
begin  the  attack  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  sound  of  Lyon's 
guns.  From  the  point  where  he  stood  he  could  look  down 
upon  the  rebel  camp  and  see  the  cooks  busy  with  their 
preparations  for  breakfast,  and  he  so  arranged  his  skir- 
mishers that  they  captured  every  man  who  straggled  out 
of  camp,  and  thus  prevented  any  warning  of  the  presence 
of  an  enemy.  Anxiously  did  he  wait  for  the  signal  to 
begin  the  attack.  He  and  his  officers  around  him  saw 
that  they  would  make  a  complete  surprise  of  the  part  of 
the  camp  they  were  to  attack,  and  already  felt  sure  that 
the  battle  would  be  in  their  favor. 

It  was  a  few  minutes  past  five  when  the  first  of 
the  rebels  were  encountered  by  Lyon's  advance,  and 
by   five-thirty    the   battle  had  begun.      Captain  Totten 


80  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

planted  his  artillery  in  a  good  position  and  threw  a  12- 
pound  shell  into  the  enemy's  camp.  Shell  after  shell 
followed  from  his  batteries  and  Dubois's,  and  then  the 
sounds  of  Sigel's  cannon  were  heard  answering  from  the 
other  end  of  the  line. 

A  rebel  officer  afterward  told  the  Avriter  of  this  story 
that  he  was  asleep  in  his  tent  when  an  orderly  came  to 
tell  him  to  get  his  regiment  under  arms,  as  the  Yankees 
were  coming. 

"  Is  that  official  ?  "  queried  the  officer,  as  he  languidly 
raised  his  head. 

Before  the  orderly  could  answer  the  sound  of  a  camion 
was  heard,  and  a  shell  tore  through  the  tent  and  narrowly 
missed  its  occupant. 

No  explanation  was  needed.  "  Well,  that's  official, 
anyhow,"  exclaimed  the  officer  as  he  sprang  from  his 
blankets  and  went  through  whatever  toilet  he  had  to  make 
with  the  greatest  celerity. 

Sigel's  shot  fell  among  the  Arkansas  and  Louisiana 
troops,  while  those  of  Lyon  were  delivered  at  the  Mis- 
sourians.  Very  quickly  the  rebel  forces  were  under  arms ; 
their  tents  fell  as  though  by  magic,  and  from  a  peaceful 
camp  the  spot  was  changed  into  a  scene  of  war  as  by  the 
wand  of  a  magician. 

The  scrub-oaks  and  underbrush  masked  the  move- 
ments of  the  rebels  and  enabled  them  to  form  their  line 
quite  near  that  of  Lyon's  forces  without  being  seen. 
They  waited  for  Lyon's  advance,  which  was  not  long 
delayed,  and  as  the  Union  troops  came  advancing  through 
tlie  bushes  they  were  met  by  a  withering  fire  from  the 
rifles  of  the  jMissourians  at  close  range.  This  was  on  the 
slope  of  Bloody  Hill,  and  on  this  hill  for  five  hours  the 
battle  raged  between  the  opposing  forces. 

Neither  side  attempted  a  bayonet  charge,  as  the  ground 
was  quite  unsuited  to  it  on  account  of  the  density  of  the 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  81 

brush  and  the  uncertainties  that  might  he  behind  it.  Most 
of  the  Missourians  were  armed  with  ordinary  shotguns  and 
hunting-rifles ;  consequently  they  could  not  have  attempted 
a  bayonet  charge,  even  though  other  circumstances  had 
permitted  one. 

The  opposing  lines  advanced,  retired,  advanced  again, 
and  often  were  not  more  than  fifty  yards  apart.  Some- 
times the  ground  was  held  and  contested  for  several 
minutes,  and  at  others  only  for  a  very  brief  period.  Now 
and  then  came  a  lull,  when  for  half  an  hour  or  so  hardly 
a  shot  would  be  fired,  the  antagonists  each  waiting  for 
the  next  move  of  their  opponents.  The  stillness  at  these 
times  was  almost  painful  and  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
roar  and  rattle  of  the  small -arms  and  the  deep  diapason 
of  the  artillery  whenever  the  battle  was  renewed. 

The  ground  was  strewn  with  dead  and  wounded. 
Here  lay  a  body  stiff  and  still  in  the  embrace  of  death,  and 
close  beside  it  another  writhing  in  the  agonies  of  flesh 
torn  by  bullets  or  by  splinters  of  shell.  Rebel  and  Union 
lay  side  by  side  as  the  line  of  battle  changed  its  position, 
and  beneath  more  than  one  of  the  dwarfed  oaks  that 
spread  over  the  now-memorable  field  the  blue  and  gray 
together  sought  shelter  from  the  August  sun  and  from 
the  leaden  rain  that  fell  pattering  among  the  leaves. 
Down  by  the  base  of  the  hill  flowed  the  creek,  apparently 
undisturbed  as  ever.  The  waters  invited  the  thirsty  to 
partake,  but  whoever  descended  to  drink  from  the  rip- 
pling stream,  or  to  fill  a  canteen  for  the  wounded,  who 
piteously  begged  for  relief,  did  so  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 
The  creek  was  commanded  by  the  rifles  of  the  Missourians 
concealed  in  a  wheattield  on  the  opposite  side,  and  not 
till  the  end  of  the  battle  was  their  position  changed. 

The  attack  of  General  Sigel  upon  the  rebel  camp  on  his 
side  of  the  line  was  as  successful  as  it  was  sudden.  The 
camp  was  abandoned,  and  his  soldiers  marched  through 
6 


82  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

it  without  opposition  to  form  along  the  Fayetteville  road 
and  be  ready  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  rebels  whenever 
they  should  be  put  to  flight  by  General  Lyon. 

After  the  first  shock  of  the  battle  was  over,  General 
McCulloch  carefully  reconnoitered  the  position  of  General 
Sigel,  and  in  consequence  of  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  oaks  and  underbrush  he  was  enabled  to  do  so  without 
being  seen.  Ascertaining  their  position  with  great  ex- 
actness, he  brought  up  two  batteries  and  placed  them 
within  point-blank  range  of  Sigel's  line,  and  at  the  same 
time  advanced  the  Third  Louisiana.  All  this  was  accom- 
plished while  Sigel  still  supposed  the  entire  Confederate 
force  was  engaged  with  Lyon ;  the  complete  screen  of  the 
trees  and  bushes  rendering  the  concealment  possible. 

The  Third  Louisiana  was  uniformed  in  gray  exactly 
like  the  uniform  of  the  First  Iowa.  When  it  approached 
it  was  mistaken  by  Sigel's  men  for  the  latter  regiment, 
and  the  word  passed  along  the  line  that  friends  were 
coming. 

As  the  gray-coated  rebels  came  up  the  fire  of  Sigel's 
men  was  withheld  and  flags  were  waved  in  welcome.  The 
advancing  enemies  reserved  their  fire  and  moved  steadily 
forward,  and  before  they  were  near  enough  to  be  recog- 
nized the  two  rebel  batteries  opened  with  full  force  upon 
Sigel  and  his  astonished  soldiers. 

The  latter  were  thrown  into  consternation,  which  was 
increased  when  the  gray-coated  men,  still  supposed  to  be 
friends,  charged  straight  upon  them  and  in  a  few  moments 
had  taken  possession  of  five  out  of  the  six  guns.  LTntil  it 
was  too  late,  the  Germans  under  Sigel  believed  that  the 
regiment  approaching  them  was  the  First  Iowa,  and  with- 
held their  flre,  with  consequences  easy  to  foresee. 

Their  rout  was  complete.  Many  were  killed  or  wound- 
ed and  many  more  captured.  About  four  hundred  of 
Sigel's  men  answered  at  the  next  roll-call ;  some  escaped 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  83 

and  joined  the  retreating  column  the  next  day,  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  column  took  the  road  through  Little  York  and 
reached  Springfield  without  further  encounter  with  the 
enemy. 

This  happened  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and 
from  that  time  on  the  rebels  could  concentrate  their  at- 
tentions upon  General  Lyon,  Sigel  being  no  longer  in  their 
way.  They  did  so  concentrate,  and  by  ten  o'clock  Lyon 
was  very  hotly  pressed.  Fresh  troops  were  poured  in  by 
the  rebels,  but  Lyon's  whole  force  had  now  been  engaged, 
and  was  steadily  melting  away.  The  rebels  were  assem- 
bling for  a  fresh  attack,  and  the  peril  of  the  L'nion  force 
was  imminent.  Unless  they  could  break  the  rebel  hue 
before  it  was  ready  to  advance,  the  day  was  in  great  dan- 
ger of  being  lost. 


84  THE  LOST  AEMY. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE. 

On-  the  whole  battlefield  there  was  no  man  more  calm 
and  collected  than  General  Lyon,  notwithstanding  the 
great  responsibility  that  rested  upon  him  and  the  fearful 
odds  against  which  he  fought.  Now  on  horseback  and 
now  on  foot,  he  moved  among  his  men,  encouraging  them 
by  his  manner  and  with  now  and  then  a  few  brief  words, 
making  suggestions  to  his  officers,  listening  to  the  reports 
of  his  aids,  calling  back  those  who  sought  to  flee  and 
steadying  those  who  showed  signs  of  giving  way,  rallying 
the  lines  where  they  began  to  break  and  closing  up  gaps 
between  companies  and  regiments,  he  seemed  a  tower  of 
strength  where  it  was  greatly  needed. 

"When  it  became  apparent  that  Sigel  had  been  routed, 
and  not  only  could  no  help  be  expected  from  him,  but  the 
regiments  of  the  enemy  which  had  been  engaged  with 
him  would  now  be  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  main 
column.  General  Lyon  remarked  to  an  officer  that  he 
feared  the  day  was  lost.  "But  we  will  make  another 
effort  to  save  it,"  said  he ;  and  with  this  remark  he 
moved  to  give  some  directions  to  Captain  Totten,  who 
was  serving  his  battery  on  the  brow  of  the  hill. 

He  was  close  to  the  most  advanced  section  of  the 
battery  when  his  horse  was  killed  by  a  cannon-shot,  and 
the  general  was  somewhat  stmined  by  his  fall  to  the 
ground.  The  colonel  of  the  Second  Kansas  had  been 
wounded ;  the  regiment  was  close  in  line  with  the  First 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  85 

Iowa,  and  with  these  regiments  General  Lyon  undertook 
to  lead  an  advance  against  the  enemy,  when  he  was 
struck  down  by  a  bullet.  He  fell  into  the  arms  of  his 
faithful  orderly,  Lehman,  who  had  kept  close  to  his  side, 
and  breathed  only  a  few  times  after  the  latter  had  laid 
him  gently  on  the  ground. 

Thus  fell  one  of  the  truest  soldiers,  one  of  the  purest 
patriots,  one  of  the  most  devoted  men  in  his  country's 
cause  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  He  loved  his  country 
for  his  country's  sake,  and  hated  slavery  and  all  its  con- 
comitants with  deadly  hate.  While  it  existed  he  tolerated 
it,  because  it  was  one  of  the  institutions  of  the  land  ;  but 
when  it  raised  its  hand  for  the  destruction  of  the  Union, 
he  was  its  most  uncompromising  foe.  He  believed  in  no 
half-way  measures,  in  no  patched-up  peace ;  and  when 
the  governor  of  Missouri  set  up  the  theory  of  the  right  of 
the  state  to  refuse  to  send  troops  to  the  war  or  permit 
their  enlistment  within  her  boundaries.  General  Lyon 
would  neither  offer  nor  accept  any  compromise.  He  held 
that  the  national  government  was  paramount  to  the 
state  or  any  other  local  authoritj%  and  considered  the 
question  one  not  to  be  argued. 

In  fighting  the  battle  in  which  he  lost  his  life  he  did  so, 
not  that  he  was  confident  of  victory,  with  the  odds  so 
greatly  against  him,  but  because  he  considered  it  better 
to  fight  and  take  the  chances  of  defeat,  rather  than  not 
fight  at  all.  He  justly  believed  that  a  well-fought  battle, 
even  if  lost,  would  leave  no  room  for  the  charge,  which 
the  rebels  were  making  daily  and  hourly,  that  the 
Northern  men  were  cowards,  who  dared  not  fight.  He 
knew  that  a  retreat  would  enable  the  Confederates  to 
overrun  all  that  part  of  the  state  as  far  as  the  Missouri 
river;  that  it  would  give  great  encouragement  to  the 
secessionists  all  through  the  state,  and  would  equally 
discourage  the  friends  of  the  Union  cause.     There  was  a 


86  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

hope — just  a  hope — that  he  might  win,  and  so  he  risked 
the  battle  and  prejjared  to  abide  by  its  results. 

After  the  death  of  General  Lyon  the  command  fell 
upon  Major  Sturgis,  who  immediately  consulted  the  rest 
of  the  officers  as  to  what  should  be  done.  Ammunition 
was  nearly  exhausted,  the  rebels  were  pressing  hard,  and 
it  was  speedily  decided  that  the  only  safety  lay  in  retreat, 
as  a  continuance  of  the  battle  would  simply  lead  to 
greater  slaughter  without  any  prospect  of  victory.  And 
so  a  retreat  was  ordered. 

The  withdrawal  was  made  in  good  order,  the  enemy 
making  no  attempt  to  follow.  It  has  been  stated  that 
the  rebels  were  at  that  moment  contemplating  a  retreat 
from  the  field,  and  had  not  the  Union  troops  withdrawn 
they  would  soon  have  found  themselves  victorious.  This 
statement  rests  upon  report  rather  than  authority,  and 
certainly  the  Confederate  historians  do  not  give  any 
credence  to  it.  Some  ground  for  the  statement  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  last  repulse  of  the  rebels  before 
the  order  for  retreat  was  given  was  a  severe  one,  and 
resulted  in  a  disorderly  retirement  of  the  attacking 
column.  At  one  time  the  rebels  were  within  twenty  feet 
of  the  muzzles  of  Totten's  guns,  and  it  was  only  by  the 
most  determined  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  infantry 
supporting  the  battery  that  the  assailants  were  driven 
back. 

Most  of  the  wounded  were  brought  from  the  field  in 
the  wagons  and  ambulances  that  followed  the  column, 
but  so  great  was  the  number  that  there  was  not  room  for 
all.  Many  were  left  on  the  ground,  and  so  was  the  body 
of  General  Lyon,  which  was  afterward  recovered  by  a  flag 
of  truce  that  went  out  in  charge  of  one  of  the  young  doc- 
tors attached  to  the  service,  partly  to  recover  the  body 
and  partly  to  care  for  or  bring  in  the  Avounded.  Our 
young  friend  Harry  was   detailed  to  drive  one  of  the 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  87 

wagons  that  went  to  the  field  with  the  flag  of  truce. 
Greatly  to  their  disappointment  both  the  youths  had  re- 
ceived strict  orders  to  stay  with  the  wagons  on  the  day 
of  battle,  so  that  they  did  not  see  anything  of  the  moment- 
ous events  of  the  day.  In  the  distance  they  heard  the 
firing,  and  now  and  then  could  get  a  glimpse  of  a  column 
of  men  in  motion,  but  so  far  as  the  actual  battle  was  con- 
cerned they  practically  saw  nothing. 

The  flag  of  truce  was  gone  several  hours,  and  did  not 
return  until  evening.  It  was  successful  in  its  mission, 
and  those  in  charge  of  it  were  courteously  received  by  the 
Confederate  officers,  though  they  met  with  many  scowls 
on  the  part  of  the  rebel  soldiers.  Until  the  flag  of  truce 
appeared  the  rebels  were  not  aware  of  General  Lyon's 
death,  and  of  course  when  they  heard  of  it  they  considered 
it  an  additional  laurel  for  their  side.  General  Price  sent 
Colonel  Snead,  his  adjutant-general,  to  identify  the  body 
of  the  fallen  hero  and  deliver  it  to  the  men  who  came  for 
it,  and  he  did  so.  Here  is  his  account  of  the  incident, 
together  with  his  estimate  of  the  general's  character : 

«  General  Price  thereupon  directed  me  to  identify  Lyon's 
body,  and  to  deliver  it  to  the  bearer  of  the  flag  of  truce. 
It  had  been  borne  to  the  rear  of  the  Federal  line  of  battle, 
and  there,  under  the  shade  of  an  oak,  it  lay,  still  clad  in 
the  captain's  uniform  which  he  had  worn  just  two  months 
before  when,  relying  upon  the  strength  of  his  manhood, 
on  the  might  of  his  government,  and  on  the  justice  of  his 
cause,  he  had  boldly  defied  the  governor  of  the  state  and 
the  major-general  of  her  forces,  and  in  their  presence  had 
declared  war  against  Missouri  and  against  all  who  should 
dare  to  take  up  arms  in  her  defense.  Since  that  fateful 
day  he  had  done  many  memorable  deeds,  and  had  well 
deserved  the  gratitude  of  all  those  who  think  that  the 
union  of  these  states  is  the  chiefest  of  political  blessings, 
and  that  they  who  gave  their  lives  to  perpetuate  it  ought 


88  THE  LOST  ABJ\1Y. 

to  be  forever  held  in  honor  by  those  who  Hve  under  its 
flag.  The  body  was  dehvered  to  the  men  who  had  come 
for  it — dehvered  to  them  with  all  the  respect  and  courtesy 
which  were  due  to  a  brave  soldier  and  the  commander  of 
an  army,  and  they  bore  it  away  towards  Springfield, 
whither  the  army  which  he  had  led  out  to  battle  was 
slowly  and  sullenly  retreating." 

Colonel  Snead  adds : 

"  The  Confederates  remained  upon  the  field  which  they 
had  won,  and  ministered  to  the  wounded  and  buried  the 
dead  of  both  armies.  Before  the  unpitying  sun  had  sunk 
behind  the  western  hills,  all  those  who  had  died  for  the 
Union  and  all  those  who  had  died  for  the  South  had  been 
laid  to  rest,  uncofiined,  in  the  ground  which  their  man- 
hood had  made  memorable  and  which  their  blood  had 
made  sacred  forever." 

Jack  was  waiting  for  Harry  when  the  latter  returned, 
and  as  soon  as  the  team  had  been  unharnessed  and  the 
animals  fed,  the  two  youths  had  an  animated  talk. 

"  The  doctor  told  me  to  drive  as  fast  as  I  could,"  said 
Harry,  "  and  you  can  be  sure  I  did.  He  had  the  flag  of 
truce — a  big  napkin  or  towel  tied  to  a  stick — and  this  he 
kept  waving  in  front  of  the  wagons  as  we  went  along. 
We  did  n't  see  anybody  until  we  got  pretty  near  the 
battlefield,  and  then  we  came  upon  a  picket  of  fellows  in 
butternut  clothes  and  armed  with  shotguns  and  squirrel 
rifles.  Yes,  we  did  see  somebody,  as  we  passed  several 
of  our  wounded  soldiers  who  had  tried  to  follow  the  army 
on  its  retreat,  but  were  too  weak  to  do  so  and  had  sat 
down  by  the  roadside  or  were  still  hobbling  on  as  fast  as 
they  could.  One  poor  fellow  of  the  First  Iowa,  who  had 
been  shot  in  the  leg,  was  using  his  gun  for  a  crutch.  He 
asked  for  a  drink  of  water  and  we  gave  it  to  him,  and  we 
gave  water  to  some  of  the  others,  who  seemed  to  need  it 
badly.     The  doctor  says  a  wounded  man  always  suffers 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  89 

terribly  from  thirst,  and  one  of  tlie  first  tilings  he  always 
asks  for  is  water. 

"  When  we  got  to  the  rebel  picket  they  stopped  us  and 
at  first  would  n't  let  us  go  on  or  send  inside  to  the  com- 
manding officer  or  anybody  else  in  authority.  But  the 
doctor  good-naturedly  said  they  could  see  for  themselves 
that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  flag  of  truce — that  he  had  a 
message  to  deliver,  and  the  best  way  to  find  out  whether 
he  ^v^as  right  or  wrong  was  to  send  to  the  nearest  com- 
missioned officer  and  ask  him  to  come  there. 

"  This  appealed  to  the  common  sense  of  the  sergeant, 
who  did  n't  seem  to  be  a  bad  fellow,  but  simply  ignorant. 
He  sent  for  his  captain,  and  in  a  little  while  the  captain 
came.  It  was  hard  to  distinguish  the  captain  from  the 
soldiers,  as  they  were  all  dressed  alike ;  some  of  them  had 
pieces  of  red  cloth  sewed  on  their  sleeves,  and  the  captain 
had  stripes  on  his  shoulders  that  looked  just  a  little  like 
shoulder-straps. 

"The  doctor  delivered  his  message,  and  the  captain 
told  him  to  wait  awhile  till  he  could  report  to  General 
Price.  Then  the  fellows  of  the  picket  began  to  talk  to  us, 
and  we  got  on  pretty  well,  though  we  thought  they  boasted 
a  little  too  much  under  the  circumstances  about  having 
just  licked  our  army  and  made  us  go  back  to  Springfield. 

"  Tiiey  asked  us  for  tobacco,  but  we  had  n't  any,  and 
then  they  hinted  that  a  little  coffee  would  taste  very  well. 
We  told  them  we  had  been  short  of  coffee  for  the  last  two 
weeks.  Tbey  would  hardly  believe  us,  but  declared  that 
while  we  had  n't  had  as  much  as  we  wanted,  they  had 
been  forced  to  go  without  it  altogether.  Fact  is,  they 
did  n't  look  as  though  they  had  been  well  fed.  One  of 
'em  took  an  ear  of  corn  from  his  pocket  and  said  it  was 
to  be  his  supper,  his  breakfast  having  been  just  like  it. 

"  The  captain  came  back  with  another  officer,  and  then 
we  went  on  to  where  the  general's  body  was  lying.    The 


90  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

soldiers  crowded  around  us,  the  same  sort  of  butternut 
fellows  as  we  met  at  the  picket.  One  of  'em  started  to 
say  something  insulting  to  us,  but  the  captain  shut  him 
Lip  with  a  word,  and  after  that  the  only  affronts  we  had 
were  scowls  and  occasional  mutterings  about  the  Yankees 
and  Dutch.  The  captain  came  with  us  to  the  place  where 
the  picket  was,  and  then  let  us  go.  The  doctor  thanked 
him  for  his  politeness,  and  offered  him  a  cigar,  which  he 
accepted  with  the  remark  that  it  was  the  first  he  had  seen 
for  two  mouths." 


TEE  LOST  ARMY.  91 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LOSSES  IX  BATTLE THE  KETREAT. 

"We  expected  to  pick  up  one  or  two  of  the  wounded  men 
into  my  wagon  on  our  way  back,"  said  Harry,  "  but  found 
we  did  n't  liave  to.  Tlie  other  wagons  had  followed  close 
behind  us,  and  gathered  up  all  who  could  n't  walk  or  take 
care  of  themselves.  Some  of  the  country  people  were  out 
looking  after  them,  too,  and  by  this  time  everybody  ought 
to  be  cared  for  in  some  way.  But,  of  course,  there  '11  be  a 
great  deal  of  suffering  under  the  best  of  circumstances,  as 
there  is  a  great  number  of  wounded  men  on  both  sides." 

And  Harry  was  right ;  there  was  a  great  number  of 
wounded  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  men  engaged.  It 
has  been  said  by  students  of  Avarfare  that  down  to  that  time 
there  had  never  been  in  the  United  States  a  battle  in  which 
the  proportion  of  casualties  was  as  great  as  at  Wilson's 
Creek,  and  without  stopping  to  examine  the  histories  of 
all  previous  battles  this  is  a  safe  assertion.  Let  us  look 
at  the  figures : 

The  total  of  the  Union  forces  was  not  far  from  five 
thousand  four  hundred,  including  officers  and  men.  They 
lost  in  the  battle  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  killed,  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-three  wounded,  and  one  hundred 
eighty-six  missing,  a  total  of  casualties  of  one  thousand 
three  hundred  and  seventeen  ;  or,  deducting  the  missing, 
we  have  of  killed  and  wounded  on  the  field  of  Wilson's 
Creek,  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-one,  or  more 
than  one  in  five  of  all  who  were  present;  and  it  is 


92  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

generally  considered  by  military  men  that  where  the  killed 
and  wounded  are  one-tenth  of  the  total  on  the  field  the 
battle  is  a  severe  one. 

The  rebel  reports  place  their  effective  force  on  the  tenth 
of  August  at  ten  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-five,  of 
which  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  were  killed  and  nine 
hundred  and  fifty-one  wounded,  a  total  of  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  thirty,  or  about  one  man  in  nine  of  the  whole 
force.  Even  this  was  a  heavy  loss,  but  much  smaller  in 
proportion  when  compared  with  that  of  General  Lyon's 
army. 

Colonel  Blair's  regiment,  the  First  Missouri,  had  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-six  men  under  arms  when  it  went  into 
battle.  Its  loss  was  three  hundred  and  thirteen,  or  almost 
one-half  its  entire  number.  Seventy-seven  of  its  men 
were  killed,  ninety-three  dangerously  wounded,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-sixotherwise  wounded,  two  were  captured 
and  fifteen  were  missing  at  the  next  roll-call.  The  First 
Kansas  lost  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  men  out  of  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-five ;  the  Second  Kansas,  the  First  Iowa, 
and  in  fact  all  the  other  regiments  on  the  field  lost  severely, 
but  not  as  heavily  in  proportion  as  did  the  First  Missouri 
and  the  First  Kansas. 

Another  notable  circumstance  of  the  battle  was  the 
large  number  of  those  engaged  in  it  under  Lyon  who 
afterward  rose  to  high  rank.  From  that  little  army  eight 
officers  rose  to  be  major-generals  before  the  end  of  the 
war,  and  thirteen  to  be  brigadier-generals.  Many  of  the 
men  who  fought  in  the  ranks  became  captains,  majors 
and  colonels.  In  1863  thirty-two  commissioned  officers 
were  in  the  service  from  one  company  of  the  First  Iowa, 
and  twenty-eight  from  one  company  of  the  First  Missouri. 
And  through  all  tlie  noble  records  they  made  during  the 
war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  one  of  their  proud- 
est boasts  was,  "  I  was  at  Wilson's  Creek  with  Lyon." 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  93 

Among  those  who  rose  to  be  major-generals  were  Scho- 
field,  Stanley,  Steele,  Granger,  Sturgis,  Herron,  Sigel  and 
Osterhaus ;  while  of  the  brigadier-generals  were  Carr, 
Plumnier,  Halderman,  Mitchell,  Dietzler,  Sweeney,  Totten, 
Clayton  and  Gilbert.  Some  of  these  officers  covered  them- 
selves with  glory  in  subsequent  campaigns,  and  their 
names  are  familiar  to  the  veterans  of  the  war  and  will 
live  in  the  history  of  the  country. 

All  this  time  we  have  left  Jack  and  Harry  talking  about 
the  battle,  .and  particularly  about  the  experience  of  the 
latter  in  accompanying  the  flag  of  truce. 

Their  conversation  was  cut  short  by  an  order  to  be  in 
readiness  to  move  at  any  moment.  Evidently  this  meant 
that  the  army  was  to  abandon  Springfield,  which  it  could 
hardly  hope  to  hold  for  any  length  of  time  after  the  result 
of  the  day's  fighting. 

"  If  they  '11  allow  us,"  said  Jack,  "  we  '11  keep  our  wagons 
close  together  and  help  each  other  all  we  can." 

"  Of  course  we  will,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "  We  shall 
probably  follow  our  regiment,  unless  the  train  gets  mixed 
up  on  the  road  and  the  wagons  are  scattered." 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  it,"  said  Jack,  "  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  rebs  could  make  it  very  lively  for  us  if 
they  wanted  to.  Here  we  've  got  a  long  train  of  wagons, 
we're  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  the  end  of  the  rail- 
way, and  there's  a  river  to  cross  on  the  way,  besides  lots 
of  small  streams  and  miles  of  woods,  where  they  could 
drop  on  us  at  any  time  before  we  knew  they  Avere  there." 

"  Anyway,  we  '11  hope  for  the  best,"  responded  Harry, 
"  and  see  how  things  turn  out.  Wonder  who  's  to  com- 
mand the  army  now  that  General  Lyon  's  dead  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  We  '11  find  that  out,  though,  pretty 
soon." 

Before  the  march  began  they  ascertained  that  the  retreat 
was  to  be  conducted  by   General  Sigel.    Major  Sturgis, 


94  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

who  had  assumed  command  immediately  after  Lyon's 
death,  refused  to  hold  it  longer,  on  the  ground  that  Gen- 
eral Sigel's  commission  in  the  volunteer  service  was 
superior  to  his  own  as  a  major  in  the  regular  army.  Ac- 
cordingly General  Sigel  assumed  command  with  the  assent 
of  all  the  regular  officers,  and  ordered  a  retreat  to  Rolla. 

Had  the  rebels  chosen  to  give  trouble  they  could  have 
given  a  great  deal.  The  road  to  Rolla  was  none  of  the 
best.  It  was  crowded  with  the  wagons  of  Union  men 
who  were  fleeing  in  terror  at  the  threatened  approach  of 
the  rebels,  and  the  army  had  a  train  of  wagons  nearly 
five  miles  long  to  encumber  its  movements.  If  the  rebels 
had  attacked  it  on  the  road,  they  would  have  had  a  great 
advantage  over  the  soldiers  who  had  been  defeated  at 
Wilson's  Creek.  Brave  as  these  men  were,  a  defeated 
army  is  never  as  good  at  fighting  as  one  that  has  not 
suffered  in  that  way. 

But  the  retreating  army  was  not  molested,  and  in  five 
days  it  had  crossed  the  Gasconade  river  and  was  in  a  place 
of  safety.  As  soon  as  it  had  passed  the  Gasconade  Major 
Sturgis  discovered  that  he  was  really  the  ranking  officer, 
owing  to  the  expiration  of  Sigel's  commission,  or  some 
technicality  concerning  it,  and  therefore  he  demanded  the 
command. 

Sigel  was  disinclined  to  yield  it  then,  but  rather  than 
have  trouble  he  did  so,  though  had  he  foreseen  the  result 
it  is  quite  probable  that  he  would  have  refused.  The 
commanding  officer  was  entitled  to  write  the  report  of 
the  battle,  and  accordingly  the  report  was  written  by 
Major  Sturgis.  At  that  time  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
ill-feeling  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  regular  officers  to- 
ward the  volunteers.  They  looked  with  contempt,  often 
undisguised,  upon  the  soldiers  who  had  come  from  civil 
pursuits  or  had  not  made  military  matters  the  occupation 
of  their  lives.     This  feeling  gradually  wore  away,  though 


THE  LOST  AEMY.  95 

it  was  never  entirely  obliterated,  but  in  the  early  part  of 
the  war  there  was  much  more  of  it  than  was  good  for  the 
service. 

General  Lyon  had  none  of  this  feeling,  but  this  was  far 
from  being  the  case  with  the  regular  officers  under  him. 
And  their  contempt  for  volunteers  was  especially  strong 
toward  the  Germans.  They  had  few  good  words  for  the 
Teutons  who  wore  the  blue,  especially  when  those  Teutons 
were  commissioned  officers. 

General  Sigel,  having  brought  the  column  from  its  peril- 
ous position  at  Springfield  to  a  point  where  it  was  out  of 
danger,  certainly  deserved  to  have  something  to  say  about 
the  official  report,  especially  when  that  report  placed  upon 
him  the  responsibility  for  the  defeat  of  the  Union  forces 
and  the  victory  of  the  rebels.  It  should  be  remarked  that 
the  official  reports  do  not  show  any  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  on  the  part  of  the  two  companies  of  regular  cav- 
alry that  accompanied  Sigel  in  the  battle  of  Wilson's 
Creek,  though  four  men  are  reported  missing  from  one  of 
those  companies.  With  the  exception  of  these  four  miss- 
ing men  all  the  loss  of  Sigel's  column  was  borne  by  his 
infantry  and  artillery,  all  volunteers  and  nearly  all  Ger- 
mans. 

At  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh  of  August 
tlie  head  of  tlie  retreating  army  marched  out  of  Spring- 
field in  the  direction  of  RoUa  and  the  rising  sun.  Five 
miles  from  Springfield  there  is  a  road  coming  in  from  the 
direction  of  Wilson's  Creek,  and  it  was  feared  that  the 
rebels  might  have  pushed  on  a  force  during  the  night  to 
contest  the  passage  of  the  fugitives  beyond  this  point. 
Had  they  done  so,  the  great  wagon-train  would  certainly 
have  been  in  peril. 

But  no  enemy  appeared,  and  there  was  an  agreeable 
disappointment  on  the  part  of  many  of  those  in  retreat. 
To  none  was  this  more  the  case  than  to  Harry  and  Jack, 


96  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

who  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  losing  their  wagons  and 
the  property  in  their  charge.  Somehow  the  horses  and 
mules  seemed  to  catch  the  spirit  of  retreat  and  to  feel  that 
they  were  in  danger.  One  of  the  drivers  declared  that  he 
had  never  known  them  to  pnll  half  as  earnestly  as  they 
did  on  the  first  day  out  of  Springfield,  He  was  sure  they 
were  solid  for  the  Union  and  did  n't  want  to  fall  into 
Johnny  Reb's  hands. 

All  along  the  road  there  was  the  wildest  alarm  among 
the  inhabitants  who  had  espoused  the  Union  cause.  They 
felt  that  their  lives  would  be  in  peril  as  soon  as  the  army 
had  passed,  and  many  of  them  had  already  packed  their 
wagons  and  were  fleeing  toward  Rolla  with  whatever 
household  goods  they  could  carry  away.  Tliey  abandoned 
homes  and  farms,  everything  that  they  were  unable  to 
carry,  and  the  spectacle  presented  by  these  fleeing  refugees 
was  a  pathetic  one.  They  filled  the  road  both  in  front  of 
and  behind  the  army,  and  for  weeks  and  weeks  after- 
ward a  steady  stream  of  them  poured  into  the  Union  lines. 
We  shall  have  more  to  say  about  these  unfortunates  by 
and  by. 

At  last,  after  many  trials  and  tribulations,  the  disheart- 
ened and  weary  army  was  encamped  at  Rolla,  where  the 
welcome  whistle  of  the  locomotive  resounded  through  the 
air.  The  campaign  of  the  southwest  was  ended,  and  the 
footsore  warriors  had  an  opportunity  to  gain  the  rest  they 
so  greatly  needed. 

Jack  and  Harry  parked  their  wagons  with  the  rest  of 
the  train,  and  wondered  what  would  happen  next. 

"  We  've  had  a  lively  time  of  it.  Jack,"  said  Harry ; 
"  but  I  'm  not  sorry  we  came." 

"  Nor  I  either,"  was  the  reply ;  "  and  I  'm  in  no  hurry  to 
go  home.  Let 's  wait  here  awhile  and  see  what 's  going  to 
turn  up." 

This  was  agreed  to,  and  they  sat  down  to  wait. 


FOKAGING. 


Page  61. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  97 


CHAPTER  XV. 

in  camp  at  eolla a  private  expedition  into  the 

enemy's  country. 

The  three-months  troops  whose  terms  had  expn-ed,  or 
were  about  to  expire,  were  sent  home,  and  the  post  at 
Rolla  left  in  charge  of  the  three-years  regiments  that  re- 
mained, together  witli  a  portion  of  the  regular  forces  of 
the  late  army  of  the  southwest.  The  First  Iowa,  as  al- 
ready stated,  had  been  enlisted  for  three  months,  and  soon 
after  the  arrival  at  Rolla  it  returned  to  its  own  state  and 
was  disbanded. 

True  to  their  determination  to  see  more  of  the  war,  Jack 
and  Harry  remained  at  Rolla  when  the  regiment  departed. 
At  the  same  time  they  wrote  to  their  parents  and  sent 
messages  by  their  comrades,  explaining  why  they  wished 
to  stay  in  Missouri,  and  their  reasons  for  not  going  home. 
"  We  are  not  enlisted,"  Jack  wrote  to  his  father,  "  and  so 
we  don't  have  to  get  into  danger  like  the  soldiers  do. 
We  've  nothing  to  do  but  drive  wagons  and  stay  around 
the  camp,  where  everything  is  safe.  The  boys  will  tell 
you  how  it  is  when  they  get  home,  and  you  may  be  sure 
we  won't  take  any  risks  we  can  keep  out  of." 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  special  pleading  in  Jack's 
letter,  as  the  reader  plainly  perceives.  It  was  certainly  a 
greater  risk  for  the  youths  to  remain  at  a  frontier  post 
than  to  go  home,  where  they  would  be  out  of  all  danger. 
Furthermore,  anybody  knows  that  while  the  position  of  a 
teamster  is  safer  than  that  of  the  soldier  who  goes  into 
7 


98  THE  LOST  AliMY. 

battle,  it  is  by  no  means  a  situation  of  unalloyed  security. 
Wagon-trains  are  liable  to  attack  and  capture  in  the 
enemy's  country,  and  one  of  the  favorite  enterprises  of  a 
cavalry  commander  is  to  strike  his  enemy's  wagon-train 
on  frequent  occasions.  If  the  wagons  can  be  taken  away 
they  become  the  enemy's  property ;  if  they  cannot  be 
secured  they  are  destroyed,  and,  in  either  case,  the  unfor- 
tunate drivers  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands  and  become 
prisoners  of  war. 

The  history  of  war  is  full  of  stories  of  attacks  upon 
wagon-trains ;  one  of  the  perplexing  problems  for  the 
military  commander  to  solve  is  how  to  keep  open  his  line 
of  communications  when  advancing  into  the  region  of  war 
and  protect  the  trains  that  bring  forward  the  supplies  for 
his  trooiDS.  If  an  army  could  be  maintained  without  food 
and  ammunition,  save  what  it  could  collect  in  the  enemy's 
country,  many  a  leader  would  be  greatly  relieved. 

Through  the  recommendation  of  the  oflBcers  of  the  First 
Iowa  Jack  and  Harry  obtained  employment  with  the  post 
quartermaster  at  Rolla,  With  the  approval  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  troops  stationed  there  he  issued  new  cloth- 
ing and  blankets  to  the  youths,  and  they  felt,  to  use  an 
old  j)hrase,  "  as  proud  as  peacocks." 

A  rumor  came  that  a  rebel  army  was  assembling  some- 
where to  the  southward  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Rolla 
and  securing  the  valuable  property  stored  thei-e.  The 
garrison  was  put  at  work  to  throw  up  defenses,  cannon 
were  sent  from  St.  Louis,  the  hills  around  the  village  were 
cleared  of  brushwood,  and  everything  about  the  place 
assumed  the  appearance  of  war. 

One  day  Jack  suggested  to  Harry  that  they  would  make 
an  excursion  into  the  neighboring  country,  just  to  see  for 
themselves  and  have  a  little  fun. 

Harry  agreed  to  the  proposal,  but  said  there  was  a 
difficulty  in  the  way  on  account  of  their  clothing.     They 


THE  LOST  ABilY.  99 

didn't  want  to  be  known  as  belonging  to  the  garrison  of 
Rolla,  for  the  double  reason  that  tlie  people  would  not  talk 
freely  with  them,  and,  besides,  they  might  be  seized  and 
carried  off  as  prisoners ;  and  furthermore,  their  suits 
were  new  and  they  didn't  want  to  spoil  them  as  long  as 
spoiling  could  be  avoided. 

Fortune  favored  them.  That  very  day  a  scouting  party 
brought  in  a  wagon-load  of  clothing  which  had  been 
collected  in  a  village  a  few  miles  away  to  be  sent  to  a 
company  from  that  village,  and  then  serving  under 
General  Price.  From  this  load  of  clothing  the  quarter- 
master allowed  Jack  and  Harry  to  help  themselves,  and 
they  managed  to  pick  out  two  suits  which  fitted  them 
about  as  well  as  one  is  ordinarily  fitted  in  a  ready-made 
clothing  store. 

Slouch  hats  added  to  these  butternut  garments  com- 
pleted their  costume,  and  thus  accoutered  they  set  out  on 
a  tramp  whose  duration  was  an  uncertainty.  Their  plan 
was  to  walk  from  Rolla  to  Ironton  and  back  again.  The 
distance  between  the  two  points  was  about  a  hundred 
miles,  and  they  intended  to  take  a  different  road  on 
their  return  from  the  one  followed  on  the  outward 
journey. 

Ironton  was  then  the  terminus  of  the  Iron  Mountain 
Railway,  and  was  held  by  a  garrison  of  Union  troops. 
Colonel  Wyman,  who  commanded  the  Thirteenth  Illinois, 
then  stationed  at  Rolla,  promised  to  write  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  post  at  Ironton  and  inform  him  of  the  pro- 
posed journey  of  the  youths,  so  that  their  story  would  not 
be  discredited  on  their  arrival  there.  It  was  thought  best 
that  they  should  carry  no  letters  or  papers  of  any  kind 
which  might  compromise  them  in  case  of  capture.  So 
they  took  nothing  except  sufficient  money  to  pay  their 
expenses  on  the  way,  and  this  was  supplied  by  the  com- 
mander of  the  post.     The  paper  money  of  the  state  of 


100  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

Missouri  was  preferred  to  anything  else  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  region  through  wliicli  they  were  to  pass,  and 
therefore  they  carried  nothing  wliich  bore  tlie  stamp  of 
tlie  United  States  government,  with  tlie  exception  of  a  few 
small  pieces  of  silver  coin  and  some  of  the  local  "  shin- 
plasters  "  that  were  then  in  circulation. 

The  story  that  they  were'  to  tell  in  case  they  were 
questioned  was  that  they  had  come  from  the  northern 
part  of  Missouri  and  were  on  their  way  to  visit  friends 
near  Ironton.  They  would  freely  admit  that  they  had  come 
through  Rolla,  and  Colonel  Wyman  gave  them  permis- 
sion to  tell  all  they  knew  about  the  garrison  there,  except 
to  give  a  guess  as  to  the  number  of  troops  at  the  post. 
To  all  questions  as  to  the  number  of  soldiers  at  Rolla, 
they  were  to  reply  that  they  "  did  n't  know,  but  thought 
there  were  five  or  six  thousand." 

The  fact  was  a  reinforcement  was  expected  in  a  few 
days,  but  this  was  unknown  to  the  youths,  and  therefore 
the  colonel  was  quite  willing  the  boys  should  give  what- 
ever information  they  could,  and  in  saying  that  they 
did  n't  know  the  number  of  soldiers  at  the  post  they  would 
be  strictly  within  the  lines  of  truth.  On  their  part  they 
were  to  learn  all  they  could  about  what  the  secessionists 
were  doing  in  the  region  between  Holla  and  Ironton,  and 
to  what  extent  it  was  sending  recruits  to  the  rebel  forces 
in  the  field. 

The  only  baggage  either  of  them  carried  was  an  over- 
coat, if  an  overcoat  can  be  called  baggage.  Jack  wanted 
to  add  a  tooth-brush  and  a  cake  of  soap  to  his  outfit,  but 
the  proposal  was  vetoed  by  Harry. 

"  Don't  you  see,"  said  Harry,  "  you  'd  be  giving  yourself 
away  at  once  ?  These  fellows  here  don't  use  soap,  or  so 
rarely  that  it  is  an  exception ;  and  as  for  tooth-brushes,  I 
don't  believe  a  quarter  of  the  people  have  ever  heard  of 
'em.     Suppose  they  search  us  or  see  us  using  soap  and 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  101 

tooth-brushes ;  they  'd  know  right  off  that  we  were  not  of 
their  kind. 

"  And  did  n't  you  hear  about  how  soap-boxes  caused  a 
lot  of  ainuiunition  to  be  seized?"  Harry  added. 

"  No  ;  what  was  that  ?  " 

"It  was  about  the  time  of  the  Camp  Jackson  affair, 
when  tlie  state  authorities  were  laying  their  plans  for 
taking  the  state  out  of  the  Union  and  getting  ready 
to  fight.  The  Union  commanders  at  St.  Louis  were 
trying  to  stop  the  shipment  of  anus  and  ammunition 
to  the  interior  of  the  state,  and  all  packages  of  goods 
going  in  that  direction  were  examined.  At  first  only  the 
outside  of  the  packages  was  looked  at,  but  one  day  some- 
thing happened  to  require  a  more  careful  inspection. 

"The  examining  officers  found  some  boxes  labeled 
*  soap '  on  a  steamboat  bound  for  Lexington,  on  the 
Missouri  river.  Had  there  been  only  one  or  two  boxes  he 
would  not  have  been  suspicious,  but  when  he  found  more 
than  one  hundred  boxes  he  '  smelt  a  mouse.'  He  naturally 
wondered  why  the  people  in  that  part  of  Missouri  could 
want  so  much  soap,  and  from  wondering  he  ordered  some 
of  the  boxes  opened. 

"  Every  box  was  found  to  contain  canisters  of  gunpowder 
instead  of  soap.  The  whole  lot  was  seized,  and  after  that 
no  goods  were  allowed  to  go  forward  without  a  careful 
inspection.  If  the  shipper  had  labeled  the  stuff  '  whisky ' 
instead  of  '  soap,'  nobody  would  have  been  suspicious,  as 
whisky  is  a  staple  article  of  commerce  and  consumption 
m  that  region," 

Jack  admitted  the  force  of  the  ai-gument  about  soap, 
but  insisted  that  a  tooth-brush  would  not  be  suspicious  or 
betray  their  real  character. 

"  Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  replied  Harry.  "  One  of 
these  Union  men  from  the  very  region  we  're  going 
through  said  the  other  day  that  he  thought  the  colonel  of 


102  TTIE  LOST  ARMY. 

the  Illinois  regiment  was  a  very  nice  man,  until  he  saw 
him  come  out  in  front  of  his  tent  one  morning  with  a 
glass  of  water  in  one  hand  and  a  little  stick  with  somo 
bristles  on  it  in  the  other. 

" '  He  came  out  there,'  said  the  man,  '  and  stood  round 
for  five  or  ten  minutes  pushing  that  little  stick  round  in 
his  mouth  and  hawking  and  spitting  and  sloshing  that  'er 
water  among  his  teeth  till  it  made  me  feel  sick.  I  don't 
think  he  's  much  of  a  nice  man  after  that.'  " 

Jack  laughed,  and  agreed  that  the  tooth-brush  must  be 
left  behind,  as  well  as  the  soap,  and  thus  it  happened  that 
they  started  with  neither  of  those  adjuncts  of  a  civilized 
toilet. 

They  took  the  road  leading  in  a  southeasterly  direction 
from  RoUa,  starting  one  morning  before  daybreak,  so  as 
to  be  well  on  their  way  before  anybody  in  the  village  was 
stirring.  The  sergeant  of  the  picket  on  the  road  they 
were  to  travel  had  been  notified  to  let  them  go  on  without 
question,  and  he  did  so  on  their  presentation  of  a  pass 
duly  signed  by  the  commandant  of  the  post.  By  sunrise 
they  were  a  good  three  miles  out  of  town,  and  had  met 
nobody. 

Tlie  first  man  they  met  was  a  Union  refugee,  who  Avas 
making  his  way  to  the  post  to  escape  persecution  of  his 
secession  neighbors ;  at  least  that  was  what  the  youths 
inferred,  though  he  was  too  cautious  to  say  so  until 
he  had  reached  the  protection  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
He  asked  if  he  was  on  the  right  road  for  Rolla,  and 
on  being  assured  that  he  was  he  appeared  greatly  re- 
lieved. 

"  I  don't  know  where  you-'uns  are  going,"  said  he,  "  but 
you  '11  find  lively  times  if  you  get  down  into  Arkansas." 

"  How  so  ?  "  one  of  the  boys  asked. 

"  Why,"  was  the  reply,  "  everybody  's  going  to  the 
army,  and  they  don't  talk  about  nothing  else.     They  say 


THE  LOST  ARJ\IY.  103 

they  '11  be  up  here  soon  and  drive  the  Yanks  out  of  Rolla 
and  everywhere  else." 

"  They  're  used  to  driving,"  said  Jack  ;  "  there 's  a  lot  of 
'em  at  Rolla  that  's  just  been  driven  in  from  Springfield, 
and  don't  act  as  though  they  were  going  back  again  in  a 
hurry." 

"  Yes,  I  've  heard  so,"  replied  the  stranger ;  "  p'r'aps 
they  don't  want  to  go  back  there  yet  awhile." 

The  conversation  lasted  for  ten  oi-  fifteen  minutes,  and 
was  as  non-committal  as  possible  on  both  sides.  Neither 
party  was  willing  to  admit  friendliness  for  the  Union 
side,  as  each  was  fearful  of  after  consequences.  The 
stranger  was  the  first  to  move  on,  as  he  evidently  dis- 
trusted the  youths  and  wanted  to  get  away  from  them. 


104  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

HINTS     POR     CAMPAIGNING IN      A     KEBEl's      HOUSE SNUFF- 
DIPPING. 

After  they  had  walked  four  or  five  miles  the  youths 
began  to  feel  hungry,  and  at  Jack's  suggestion  they 
stopped  for  breakfast  at  the  side  of  a  little  brook,  which 
could  supply  them  with  that  very  important  ingredient 
of  a  traveler's  meal,  water.  Xot  only  did  they  drink 
from  the  brook  while  devouring  the  hard  biscuit  and 
boiled  beef  they  had  brought  along,  but  they  bathed  their 
feet  in  the  stream,  and  carefully  dried  them  before  putting 
on  their  shoes  and  stockings. 

Very  early  in  their  campaigning  they  had  learned  the 
lesson  of  caring  for  their  feet.  An  old  soldier  said  to 
them  before  they  left  Booneville : 

"  Make  it  a  rule  to  bathe  your  feet  whenever  you  have 
a  chance,  and  always  dry  them  carefully  before  covering 
them  again.  Of  course  there  will  be  times  when  you 
must  put  on  wet  shoes  and  stockings  and  travel  in  them 
for  miles  and  miles,  but  never  do  it  if  you  can  help  it. 
Wet  feet  cause  blisters,  rheumatism  and  all  sorts  of  trou- 
l)le,  and  many  a  man  has  broken  down  on  a  march  be- 
cause his  feet  were  not  properly  cared  for." 

"  T  should  think  the  officers  would  look  out  for  their 
men's  feet,"  said  Jack,  when  the  soldier  made  the  above 
suggestion. 

"  So  anybody  would  think,  very  naturally,"  was  the 
reply ;  "  but  the  fact  is,  a  good  many  of  the  officers  do 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  105 

nothing  of  the  kind.  They  are  either  above  that  sort  of 
thing  or  else  they  give  general  directions  to  the  men,  and 
then  let  them  take  care  of  themselves.  A  good  infantry 
captain  will  see  to  it  that  his  men  take  care  of  their  feet, 
jnst  as  a  good  cavalry  captain  looks  out  for  the  shoeing 
of  his  horses  and  tries  every  way  he  can  to  keep  them 
from  getting  sore  backs. 

"  xVnd  remember  another  thing,"  he  continued ;  "  at 
night  always  take  off  your  boots  or  shoes,  and  sleep  with 
your  feet  bare  or  only  with  stockings  on.  Your  rest  with 
your  feet  free  does  twice  as  much  good  as  the  same  amount 
of  rest  with  them  confined  in  the  leather  you  have  worn 
all  day.  This  is  the  rule  with  all  old  travelers.  Of  course 
there  are  times,  when  you  are  close  to  the  enemy  and  a 
surprise  may  be  looked  for  at  any  moment,  when  you 
must  make  an  exception  to  the  rule  ;  but  don't  make  the 
exception  if  it  can  be  avoided." 

Jack  was  skeptical  on  this  point,  and  determined  to 
try  for  himself.  So  he  slept  one  night  with  his  boots 
on  and  the  next  with  them  off,  and  found  it  just  as  the 
old  soldier  had  told  him.  He  candidly  admitted  his 
mistake,  and  said  that  for  the  future  he  should  n't  be 
so  confident  about  his  own  opinions  when  they  did  n't 
coincide  with  those  of  persons  older  and  more  experi- 
enced than  himself. 

"  One  thing  more  bear  in  mind,"  said  their  informant, 
"  and  that  is  about  sleeping  around  a  campfire." 

"What  is  that?  " 

"  When  you  sleep  near  a  fire  always  lie  with  your  feet 
to  it  if  you  can.  If  you  turn  your  head  toward  it  you 
will  quite  likely  have  a  headache  in  the  morning,  and, 
anyway,  you  won't  sleep  well.  The  brain  should  be  kept 
cool  while  we  are  sleeping,  and  the  feet  warm.  We  cover 
our  feet  at  night  when  we  sleep  in  beds,  but  leave  our 
heads  exposed.     Follow  the  same  plan  in  camp,   and  if 


106  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

you  have  warmth  anywhere  have  it  at  the  feet.  When 
you  sleep  in  a  tent  have  your  head  where  you  can  get  the 
greatest  amount  of  pure  air  to  breathe.  The  Indians  un- 
derstand tliis,  and  wlien  they  sleep  in  their  circular  wig- 
wams or  lodges  they  have  their  feet  toward  the  center 
and  their  heads  nearest  the  circumference." 

These  simple  directions  were  of  great  use  to  Jack  and 
Harry  in  their  subsequent  campaigning,  and  should  be 
remembered  by  any  of  the  young  readers  of  this  story. 
Other  hints  came  to  them  from  time  to  time,  which  we 
may  introduce  hereafter. 

After  breakfast  they  continued  their  journey.  Half  a 
mile  or  so  farther  on  they  came  to  a  house,  where  they 
asked  the  way  to  the  next  village,  to  make  sure  that  they 
were  on  the  right  road.  A  woman  and  two  tow-headed 
children  were  the  sole  possessors  of  the  establishment, 
and  they  eyed  the  young  travelers  with  an  air  of  suspicion. 
After  answering  the  question,  the  woman  asked  where 
they  were  from. 

"  We  've  come  from  the  other  side  of  the  Missouri," 
answered  Jack,  "  and  are  going  down  to  see  some  of  our 
friends." 

"  I  know  where  you  're  going,"  said  the  woman.  "  You 
do  n't  look  old  enough  for  soldiers,  but  you  're  going 
South.     Did  you  see  any  Yanks  at  Rolla  ?  " 

"Yes,  lots  of 'em,"  said  Harry;  "  and 't  wasn't  easy 
to  get  away  from  there." 

"  Yes,  yes,  that 's  what  they  say,"  responded  the  woman, 
fully  convinced  by  Harry's  answer  that  her  suspicions 
were  correct.  And  then  she  added,  "  Wonder  'f  I  could 
get  to  Rolla  and  get  some  snuflf  ?  " 

The  boys  were  non-committal  on  this  point,  but  thought 
she  would  have  no  trouble  if  she  went  straight  to  the 
provost-marshal's  office  when  she  entered  the  village,  and 
told  what  she  wanted. 


THE  LOST  AUMY.  107 

« And  T  want  a  little  tea  and  coffee,  too,"  she  added ; 
"and  then  some  salt  and  other  things  for  the  house." 

Harry  told  her  she  might  get  a  pound  or  so  of  each, 
but  he  was  sure  the  officers  would  n't  let  anybody  come 
through  the  lines  with  more  than  that.  "  That 's  what 
they  told  us  at  Rolla,"  he  added,  "  and  so  we  did  n't  try 
to  bring  anything  along," — a  statement  which  was  liter- 
ally true. 

She  promised  to  follow  their  directions,  and  then  grew 
confidential.  She  told  them  her  husband  was  down  on 
the  St.  Francis  river,  where  General  Hardee  was  getting 
up  an  army  to  drive  the  Yanks  out  of  Rolla  and  all  that 
part  of  the  state.  "  He  's  in  Colonel  Jones's  regiment," 
said  she ;  "  and  if  you  see  him,  tell  him  we  're  getting  on 
all  right  and  hope  they  '11  be  along  soon,  as  we  're  getting 
mighty  short  of  things  to  eat." 

Jack  gravely  made  a  mental  note  of  the  name  of  the 
m.in  by  pronouncing  it  several  times,  and  promised  to 
hunt  him  up  as  soon  as  they  got  where  Colonel  Jones's 
regiment  was.  The  woman  then  invited  the  youths  to 
stay  and  have  something  to  eat.  As  they  had  just  break- 
fasted they  declined  the  invitation,  but  accepted  the  offer 
of  some  milk.  One  of  the  children  brought  it  from  the 
springhouse,  and  the  young  adventurers  drajik  freely  and 
with  a  good  rehsh.  They  had  a  conscientious  twinge  in 
so  doing,  but  swallowed  the  twinge  along  with  the  milk, 
and  after  thanking  the  kind-hearted  woman  for  her  hospi- 
tality continued  on  their  way. 

"  Funny  she  should  want  snuff  before  anything  else," 
said  Jack,  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  earshot  of  the 
house. 

»  Nothing  so  very  funny  about  that,"  replied  Harry. 
"  Don't  you  know  how  they  use  it  ?" 

"  I  've  heard  something  about  it,  but  don't  know  ex- 
actly." 


108  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

" I  picked  it  up  the  other  clay,"  Ilairy  explained,  "  and 
this  is  how  it  is :  They  call  it  '  snuff-dipping '  in  the 
South,"  he  continued,  "  and  it  is  very  much  the  fashion 
among  the  middle  and  lower-class  whites  down  in  the 
cotton  states,  but  not  much  in  Missouri  as  yet.  They 
take  a  little  stick  and  chew  the  end  until  it 's  soft  like  a 
brush  ;  then  they  dip  this  moist  brush  in  snuff  and  rub  it 
on  the  gums  and  around  the  mouth  generally,  and  in  this 
way  they  use  up  a  good  deal  of  snuff  in  the  course  of  a  year. 
It  is  said  to  produce  a  pleasant  sort  of  mild  intoxication, 
and  after  using  it  a  little  while  a  woman  gets  as  much  ad- 
dicted to  snuff-dipping  as  a  man  does  to  chewing  tobacco 
or  smoking.  It 's  the  same  sort  of  vice,  and  I  can't  say  I 
blame  the  women  much,  when  all  the  men  around  them 
are  chewing  or  smoking  tobacco." 

"Do  they  all  use  it?"  queried  Jack;  "I  mean  do 
the  young  women  dip  siuift'  the  same  as  the  older 
ones?" 

"  I  did  n't  tliink  to  ask  that  question,"  Harry  responded ; 
"  but  the  man  who  told  me  said  the  Avomen  who  dipped 
snuff'  mostly  did  it  '  on  the  sly,'  at  any  rate  in  the  begin- 
ning of  it.  Probably  they  get  bolder  about  it  in  time,  just 
as  boys  do  when  they  learn  to  smoke.  After  a  while  they 
get  accustomed  to  snuff,  and  don't  get  the  excitement  out 
of  it  that  they  want,  and  then  they  take  to  smoking  pipes 
just  like  men," 

Later  observation  convinced  Jack  that  Harry  had  been 
correctly  informed.  The  further  they  went  in  the  South 
the  more  they  found  the  use  of  tobacco  prevailing  among 
the  women,  and  in  several  instances  they  found  little  con- 
cealment practiced  in  the  custom  of  snuff-dipping.  At 
one  house  where  they  called  a  middle-aged  woman  held 
her  snuff-stick  in  her  mouth  all  the  time  she  was  talking 
■with  them,  just  as  a  man  might  hold  a  cigar  there,  and 
an  older  woman  sat  by  the  fireplace  smoking  a  corn-cob 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  109 

pipe  with  tlie  utmost  indifference  to  the  presence  of  the 
young  visitors. 

They  did  not  stop  again  until  early  in  the  afternoon, 
when  they  called  at  a  house  and  asked  if  they  could  have 
dinner.  There  was  a  man  about  the  premises,  in  addition 
to  the  woman  and  the  usual  complement  of  tow-headed 
children.  He  promptly  said  they  hadn't  much  to  offer, 
but  the  boys  should  be  welcome.  He  had  nothing  but 
hog  and  hominy,  and  he  reckoned  that  was  all  they  would 
find  anywhere  on  the  road. 

Jack  took  the  lead  as  spokesman,  and  assured  him  that 
hog  and  hominy  was  good  enough  for  anybody,  and  was 
all  they  wanted ;  and  he  further  said  that  cold  hog  was 
just  as  good  for  them  as  hot,  and  if  there  was  any  cold  in 
the  house  it  would  make  them  a  first-rate  dinner. 

This  avowal  of  democratic  principles  smoothed  the  way 
at  once,  and  in  a  little  while  dinner  was  ready.  Fried 
bacon  and  cornbread  constituted  the  repast,  which  was 
washed  down  with  milk,  the  boys  intimating  that  they 
preferred  it  to  any  other  beverage,  partly  for  the  reason 
that  it  was  nutritious  and  partly  because  of  the  general 
scarcity  of  tea  and  coffee  through  all  the  war-stricken 
region.  The  host  was  not  inclined  to  be  talkative  on  the 
topics  that  were  just  then  the  most  absorbing,  probably 
for  the  reason  that  he  did  n't  know  exactly  who  and  what 
his  visitors  might  be,  and  preferred  to  remain  neutral. 
Many  men  in  Missouri  tried  to  adopt  this  course,  but 
sooner  or  later  most  of  tliem  were  drawn  into  the  war  on 
one  side  or  the  other ;  neutrality  was  next  to  impossible 
where  a  man  was  able  to  bear  arms  or  contribute  in  any 
way  to  the  contest  which  involved  the  existence  or  the 
destruction  of  the  nation. 

When  the  meal  was  over  Jack  asked  how  much  they 
owed  for  it.  The  man  said  he  did  n't  want  anything,  but 
if  they  had  fifty  cents  to  spare  for  the  children  it  might 


no  THE  LOST  ABMT. 

come  handy.  Accordingly  Jack  gave  twenty-five  cents 
to  one  of  the  children,  Harry  gave  the  same  amount  to 
another,  and  everything  was  satisfactory. 

Just  as  they  arose  from  the  table  there  was  the  sound 
of  hoofs  outside,  which  drew  everybody  to  the  door.  The 
hearts  of  the  youths  beat  a  little  faster  than  usual  when 
they  saw  eight  or  ten  horsemen  riding  up  to  the  house 
and  ranging  themselves  in  front  of  it. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  m 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A   STJCCESSFTJL   SCOUT — CAPTURE    OF    A   EEBEL   CAVALRY 
SQUAD. 

"  Are  they  friends  or  enemies  ? "  was  the  question 
which  rose  simultaneously  in  the  thoughts  of  the  two  ad- 
venturers. One  thing  was  certain,  they  were  not  a  cavalry 
scouting  party  from  Rolla,  as  they  were  not  in  the  army 
uniform,  but  were  dressed  in  the  common  garb  of  the 
country,  the  universal  "  butternut." 

Two  of  the  men  dismounted  and  entered  the  house,  or 
rather  stepped  just  within  the  doorway,  while  the  others 
remained  in  their  saddles  and  held  the  horses  of  the  two 
already  mentioned.  The  first  question  of  the  one  who 
appeared  to  be  leader  was : 

"  Any  Yanks  about  to-day  ?  " 

Receiving  a  negative  reply,  he  asked  if  they  had  any- 
thing to  drink.  The  host  said  he  had  just  a  drop  of 
whisky,  but  he  was  afraid  there  was  n't  enough  to  go 
around.  He  brought  out  a  bottle,  and  as  it  was  less  than 
half-full  it  was  very  evident  that  it  would  be  a  small 
allowance  for  the  party  of  horsemen,  supposing  all  of  them 
were  thirsty. 

The  captain,  as  his  comrades  called  him,  proceeded  to 
fill  the  bottle  with  water,  thus  diluting  its  contents,  and 
then  remarked  that  he  thought  it  would  go  around.  After 
taking  a  good-sized  drink  for  himself  he  went  outside  and 
handed  the  bottle  over  to  his  subordinates,  by  whom  it 
was  speedily  emptied. 


112  THE  LOST  ARM Y. 

While  they  were  discussing  tlie  whisky  and  remarking 
upon  its  tliinness,  the  captain  questioned  tlie  two  youtlis, 
who  replied  as  they  had  previously  arranged  to  do.  They 
told  the  story  they  had  already  given  several  times,  and 
which  they  had  begun  to  believe  was  entirely  within  the 
bounds  of  truth.  The  captain  seemed  somewhat  sus- 
picious at  first,  but  before  they  were  through  talking  he 
fell  into  the  same  error  as  did  the  woman  at  whose  house 
they  stopped  in  the  morning. 

"  We  're  going  south,  too,"  said  the  captain,  "  soon  as 
we  can  raise  more  men  and  horses.  If  you  'd  only  a  couple 
of  horses  we  'd  jest  take  you  along.  But  you  don't  look 
old  enough  for  soldiers.     How  old  are  you?" 

Jack  said  they  would  be  sixteen  very  soon,  and  he  added 
that  perhaps  the  war  might  last  long  enough  for  them  to 
get  their  full  size.  He  echoed  the  wish  of  the  captain 
that  they  had  horses  to  travel  with,  so  that  they  could  go 
along  with  his  company. 

"  Well,  p'r'aps  you  '11  find  some  in  a  day  or  two,"  the 
captain  answered ;  "  there  's  some  of  these  Union  men 
round  here  that  've  got  horses  we  ought  to  have." 

Jack  took  the  hint  and  indicated  their  willingness  to 
help  themselves  to  horses  whenever  they  could  find  any. 
This  was  satisfactory  to  the  captain,  and  he  said  that 
they  might  join  him  as  soon  as  they  were  mounted,  and 
it  would  n't  be  very  hard  to  find  him  if  they  asked  in  the 
right  quarters. 

Then  he  gave  them  several  names  of  men  who  could  be 
relied  upon,  and  told  where  they  lived.  They  covered  a 
distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  to  the  east  and  south, 
so  that  as  soon  as  the  youths  had  supplied  themselves 
with  horses  they  could  find  out  the  captain's  rendezvous. 
"  But  don't  trust  this  man,"  said  the  captain,  r  odding  in 
the  direction  of  the  house  in  front  of  which  they  stood. 
"  He  talks  South  to  our  fellows  and  North  to  the  Yanks 


TRIE  LOST  AEMY.  113 

when  they  come  around,  and  nobody  knows  where  to  put 
him  exactly.  He  's  trying  to  carry  water  on  botli  shoul- 
ders, and  '11  be  likely  to  spill  it  if  he  don't  look  out  sharp." 

Then  the  captain  mounted  his  horse,  after  handing  the 
empty  bottle  to  the  farmer,  and  the  troop  of  Southern 
recruits  rode  off.  The  farmer  was  evidently  glad  to  see 
them  going  away,  and  also  not  at  all  sorry  when  the  boys 
followed  in  the  same  direction.  He  had  heard  only  a 
small  part  of  the  conversation  between  them,  but  evi- 
dently caught  enough  of  it  to  divine  its  purport. 

"  It 's  getting  rather  exciting,"  said  Harry,  as  soon  as 
they  were  alone.  "  Had  n't  we  better  go  back  to  Rolla 
and  tell  what  we  've  seen  and  heard,  so  as  to  put  the  col- 
onel on  the  track  of  the  captain  who  wants  us  to  become 
horse-thieves  ?  " 

"  I  've  been  thinking  the  same  thing,"  said  Jack  ;  "  but 
how  will  we  work  it  ?  " 

"That  's  the  question,"  Harry  responded.  "It  won't 
do  to  turn  round  now,  as  we  should  be  suspected  by 
everybody  who  has  seen  us,  and  particularly  by  the  man 
where  we  had  dinner.  I  think  he  's  a  Union  man,  or 
neutral  anyhow ;  but  we  '11  take  the  captain's  advice,  and 
not  trust  him." 

"  I  have  it,"  said  Jack.  "  We  're  tired  now,  and  will 
go  into  the  woods  and  have  a  sleep.  We  're  about  fifteen 
miles  from  Rolla,  and  can  get  back  there  by  morning. 
Soon  as  it 's  dark  we  can  start  back  and  go  just  as  fast 
as  we  can,  and  by  breakfast  time  to-morrow  we  '11  have 
a  party  of  cavalry  on  the  heels  of  the  captain." 

This  was  agreed  to,  and  at  once  the  boys,  in  the  par- 
lance of  the  Southwest,  "  took  to  the  woods."  They  slept 
soundly  till  dark,  and  then  took  the  back  track  for  Rolla. 
Fortunately  they  met  nobody  save  a  man  in  a  farm- 
wagon,  and  as  they  heard  the  sound  of  his  wheels  some 
time  before  he  reached  them  they  had  abundant  oppor- 


114  THE  LOST  AEMY. 

tunity  to  conceal  themselves  by  the  roadside  till  he  had 
passed. 

Just  at  daylight  they  reached  the  pickets  outside  of 
Rolla,  and  were  immediately  taken  before  the  colonel, 
who  received  them  in  his  tent  and  heard  their  story. 
Then  he  sent  for  a  lieutenant  of  cavalry,  who  was  at  once 
dispatched  with  twenty  men  to  hunt  for  the  captain  and 
his  band  of  horse- thieves.  Jack  and  Harry  offered  to 
accompany  them,  but  the  captain  declined,  partly  because 
they  were  in  great  need  of  rest,  having  traveled  thirty 
miles  in  about  twenty-six  hours  and  been  awake  all 
night,  and  partly  because  they  would  be  recognized  by 
those  who  had  seen  them  on  the  road,  and  by  the  captain 
and  his  men  in  case  they  should  be  encountered. 

"  But  do  us  one  favor,"  said  .Jack,  when  he  found  that 
their  desire  to  accompany  the  party  would  not  be  granted. 

"Anything  in  reason,"  said  the  lieutenant;  "what  is 
it?" 

Then  he  told  about  the  woman  who  had  given  them  the 
milk  and  asked  them  to  stay  to  dinner,  and  he  described 
the  house  so  that  it  could  not  be  mistaken. 

"  Well,  what  about  her  ?  "  asked  the  lieutenant,  as  Jack 
paused. 

"  Take  her  this,"  said  Jack,  handing  out  a  package  co7i- 
taining  half  a  pound  of  tea,  which  he  had  obtained  from 
the  colonel's  servant  while  they  were  waiting  the  arrival 
of  the  lieutenant,  after  the  boys  had  told  their  story. 
"  Just  leave  it  and  say  it  is  from  friends ;  you  need  n't 
tell  her  anything  more,  and  it  isn't  necessary  for  her  to 
know.  We  feel  rather  guilty  at  having  had  her  hospi- 
tality for  nothing,  and  want  to  compensate  her  in  some 
way." 

The  lieutenant  laughed  as  he  tossed  the  package  to  his 
sergeant  and  gave  the  order  to  mount.  In  two  minutes 
the  party  was  off.     It  was  accompanied   by  two  Union 


THE  LOST  AB3fY.  115 

men,  natives  in  that  region,  who  were  to  act  as  guides  in 
designating  the  roads  leading  to  the  probable  retreat  of 
tlie  captain  witli  whom  tlie  youths  had  formed  so  brief  an 
acquaintance. 

Tlie  lieutenant  carried  out  the  request  of  the  boys  and 
left  the  woman  a  good  deal  puzzled  over  the  affair.  He 
did  not  stop  five  minutes  at  the  house,  and  briefly  told  her 
that  an  old  friend  had  sent  her  something  he  thought 
would  be  acceptable.  As  the  boys  could  not  in  any  sense 
be  considered  old  friends,  she  never  once  thought  of 
them,  and  especially  as  they  had  gone,  as  she  supposed, 
to  the  South,  and  turned  tlieir  backs  altogether  upon 
Rolla  and  the  way  the  Yankees  came  from. 

Let  us  follow  the  scouting  party  and  see  how  it  turned 
out. 

About  fifteen  miles  out  from  Rolla,  and  near  the  point 
where  Jack  and  Ilany  turned  back,  the  lieutenant  halted 
his  men  and  sought  a  place  of  concealment  in  the  woods 
by  the  roadside,  first  putting  out  a  picket  to  prevent  any 
one  passing  in  either  direction.  Then,  as  the  Union 
guides  were  known,  he  had  them  change  clothing  and 
horses  with  two  of  the  men,  whom  he  sent  forward  to  one  of 
the  secessionists  whose  name  had  been  given  by  the  rebel 
captain  to  the  youths.  For  this  work  he  selected  two 
young  and  beardless  men,  on  the  chance  that  the  captain 
had  told  the  secessionist  that  the  two  youths  might  ask 
his  whereabouts. 

The  lieutenant's  calculations  were  correct.  The  resi- 
dent readily  told  where  the  captain  was  to  be  found,  and 
the  men  returned  by  a  circuitous  route  to  where  the  sol- 
diers were  waiting  for  the  desired  information.  Then 
there  was  a  change  back  again  to  clothing  and  horses  as 
before,  and  the  hunt  for  the  human  game  was  renewed. 

So  well  was  the  affair  managed  that  the  whole  band 
was  captured  without  the  shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood. 


116  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

With  the  aid  of  the  guides  the  camp  of  the  rebel  recruits 
was  surrounded  and  the  whole  party  was  taken  by  sur- 
prise. At  first  they  were  inclined  to  fight,  but  when  they 
saw  their  assailants  were  double  their  number,  and  also 
were  better  armed,  they  considered  discretion  the  better 
part  of  valor  and  gave  up  as  gracefully  as  they  could. 

The  lieutenant  returned  in  triumph  to  Rolla  with  his 
prisoners  and  their  horses.  To  guard  against  accidents 
the  prisoners  were  not  mounted  on  their  own  steeds,  but 
carried  in  a  wagon  which  formed  a  part  of  their  camp 
equipment.  Four  soldiers  with  their  carbines  ready  rode 
on  eacli  side  of  the  wagon,  and  if  any  attempt  had  been 
made  to  escape  it  would  have  resulted  badly  for  those 
Avho  tried  it. 

The  captured  horses  were  turned  over  to  the  quarter- 
master, with  the  exception  of  two,  which  the  colonel  gave 
to  Jack  and  Harry  for  their  own  use.  Jack  selected  the 
one  which  had  belonged  to  the  captain,  and  remarked  as 
he  did  so  that  he  had  carried  out  that  gentleman's  wishes 
in  helping  himself  to  a  horse,  though  possibly  not  in  the 
way  the  latter  intended. 

The  colonel  praised  the  boys  for  what  they  had  done, 
but  advised  them  to  give  the  region  of  their  late  opera- 
tions a  wide  berth  in  future. 


THE  LOST  AE2IY.  117 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE     REBELS     OX     THE     OFFEXSIVE SIEGE     OF     LEXINGTON. 

The  morning  after  their  arrival  at  Rolla,  the  prisoners 
taken  through  the  instrumentality  of  Jack  and  Harry 
were  sent  to  8t.  Louis,  where  they  were  held  until  an  ex- 
change was  arranged.  Colonel  Wyman  thought  the  in- 
terests of  the  service  would  be  advanced  by  keeping  the 
captured  captain  and  his  comrades  in  ignorance  of  ho\A 
their  seizure  was  accomplished,  and  in  obedience  to  his 
orders  the  two  youths  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the  pris- 
oners, and  nothing  was  said  in  their  presence  that  could 
enlighten  them. 

It  was  several  months  before  the  captain  found  out  how 
cleverly  he  had  been  taken.  At  first  he  was  inclined  to 
be  very  angry  with  the  boys,  and  vowed  vengeance  upon 
them  if  he  ever  met  them  again ;  but  on  reflection  he  re- 
marked that  all  was  fair  in  love  and  war,  and  perhaps  he 
was  not  quite  free  from  blame  in  talking  so  readily  with 
two  entire  strangers.  "  They  played  the  game  well,"  said 
lie ;  "  splendidly,  in  fact,  for  a  pair  of  youngsters,  and  if  I 
can  ever  give  them  a  helping  hand  when  they  're  in  trou- 
ble I  '11  do  it."  He  was  n't  at  all  a  bad  sort  of  fellow, 
that  captain,  and  you  can  be  sure  that  after  that  he 
was  n't  quite  so  ready  to  confide  in  persons  whom  he  had 
never  seen  before. 

Not  only  did  the  boys  have  a  selection  from  the  cap- 
tured horses,  but  they  had  a  choice  of  saddles  and  also  of 
the  pistols  which  formed  the  armament  of  the  prisoners. 


118  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

All  the  pistols  were  old,  and  some  of  them  were  quite  as 
likely  to  do  damage  at  the  rear  as  at  the  business  end. 
The  captain  had  the  best  weapon  of  the  lot— a  Colt's  re- 
volver, and  there  was  another  just  about  as  good.  Jack 
and  Harry  drew  lots  for  the  choice.  The  advantage  fell 
to  Jack,  who  immediately  picked  up  the  captain's  revolver 
and  handed  it  over  to  Harry.  "I  've  got  the  captain's 
horse,"  said  he,  "  and  you  ought  to  have  something  to 
remember  him  by,  so  you  nmst  take  this  along."  Thus 
the  division  was  settled,  and  both  were  happy. 

Thus  armed  and  mounted,  the  boys  were  what  might 
be  called  "  swells  "  in  the  garrison  of  Rolla,  and  the  envy 
of  many  of  their  associates.  There  was  not  a  great  deal 
for  them  to  do  for  a  month  or  more,  as  the  enemy  did  not 
make  the  attack  upon  the  post  they  had  been  threatening 
to  make,  nor  did  they  even  make  a  feint  of  one.  The  boys 
went  on  several  scouting  expeditions  on  their  own  ac- 
count, with  the  approval  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
post,  and  though  they  made  some  discoveries  and  ob- 
tained information  that  was  of  use,  they  did  not  succeed 
in  making  captures  of  prisoners  and  horses. 

Recruiting  for  the  rebel  army  was  in  progress  in  all  the 
interior  counties  of  Missouri,  and  often  almost  under  the 
eyes  of  the  Union  authorities.  Now  and  then  an  expedi- 
tion seized  a  squad  or  company  of  recruits  and  brought 
tliem  triumphantly  within  the  lines,  but  as  a  general 
thing  the  most  of  the  men  who  wanted  to  join  the  South- 
ern armies  succeeded  in  doing  so.  The  fact  was,  it  was 
not  possible  to  garrison  every  town  and  village  through- 
out the  State,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  allow  those  with 
secession  proclivities  to  get  away  to  the  field  whenever 
they  wanted  to  go,  rather  than  remain  and  be  a  cause  of 
trouble. 

General  Fremont  had  been  assigned  to  the  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  Missouri  shortly  before  the  battle 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  119 

of  Wilson's  Creek,  and  it  was  to  him  that  General  Lyon 
had  appealed  so  earnestly  and  so  vainly  for  reinforcements 
to  enable  him  to  hold  out  against  the  advancing  rebels. 
After  the  retreat  of  the  army  to  Rolla  and  the  occupation 
of  Springfield  by  the  rebels,  General  Fremont  set  about 
organizing  a  force  to  take  the  field  early  in  the  autumn, 
with  the  hope  of  securing  possession  of  the  state  and  fly- 
ing the  Union  flag  all  over  its  territory. 

After  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek  the  disagreement 
which  had  existed  between  the  rebel  leaders — Price  and 
McCulloch — increased,  and  finally  threatened  to  end  in 
warfare  almost  equal  to  that  which  they  were  trying  to 
wage  together  against  the  Union.  McCulloch  refused  to 
advance  further  into  the  state,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties 
of  Price.  An  appeal  to  the  Confederate  government  did 
not  result  in  securing  a  peremptory  order  for  McCulloch 
to  advance  as  Price  desired,  and  the  result  was  a  separa- 
tion. McCulloch  went  back  to  Arkansas,  while  Price, 
whose  forces  had  been  strengthened  by  recruits  from  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  state,  marched  northward  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Missouri  river. 

Price's  openly-declared  intentions  were  to  capture 
Jefferson  City,  the  capital,  and  re-establish  Governor  Jack- 
son in  authority  there.  A  state  convention  had  met  there 
in  July,  and,  of  course,  there  was  no  governor  to  welcome 
it,  and  no  commander-in-chief  of  the  state  forces.  The 
convention  declared  the  oflice  of  governor  vacant,  and 
chose  a  new  governor.  Honorable  Hamilton  R.  Gamble,  to 
fill  Jackson's  place.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  Governor 
Gamble  was  a  Union  man,  and  from  that  time  onward  the 
power  of  the  state  was  exerted  in  favor  of  the  national 
government  and  against  the  rebellion  of  the  South. 

Jackson,  the  fugitive  and  rebel  governor,  never  saw  the 
state  capital  again  after  he  left  on  the  day  of  the  memo- 
rable flight  to  Booneville.     He  continued  with  the  rebel 


120  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

armies  in  southwest  Missouri  and  Arkansas  and  died  in 
the  last-named  state  long  before  the  end  of  the  war. 
General  Price  survived  the  war  and  afterward  went  to 
Mexico,  where  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  a  colony  of 
Americans  who  had  sworn  never  to  live  under  the  flag  of 
the  United  States.     He  died  there  in  1867. 

With  twenty  thousand  men  in  his  command,  and  with 
his  numbers  increasing  every  day  of  his  advance.  Price 
reached  Lexington,  on  tiie  banks  of  the  Missouri,  having 
two  or  three  encounters  with  the  Union  forces  on  his  way, 
none  of  which  were  of  much  account.  The  superiority  of 
his  numbers  gave  him  the  advantage,  and  his  opponents 
wisely  retreated  as  he  moved  on.  Lexington  was  gar- 
risoned by  about  two  thousand  six  hundred  Union  troops, 
consisting  of  volunteer  infantry  and  Home  Guards,  under 
command  of  Colonel  Mulligan,  of  the  Irish  Brigade.  A 
fortification  had  been  thrown  up  around  the  college 
buildings,  which  stood  in  a  commanding  position  between 
the  new  and  old  towns  of  Lexington,  and  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  river.     The  bank  of  the  river  was  a  hiwh 

o 

blult",  and  with  the  exception  of  a  small  supply  from 
cisterns  and  springs,  water  for  the  garrison  had  to  be 
brought  by  hand  or  hauled  by  teams  from  below  the  base 
of  this  bluff. 

Colonel  Mulligan  arrived  at  Lexington  on  the  first  of 
September,  and  the  fortification,  which  he  greatly  strength- 
ened, had  been  laid  out  by  the  commander  of  the  troops 
already  there.  The  spot  was  not  wisely  selected,  as  we 
shall  presently  see.  As  one  of  the  officers  said  afterwards, 
"  It  was  a  very  good  place  for  a  peace  fortress,  but  very 
bad  for  warfare,  especially  when  the  warfare  has  to  be 
defensive." 

The  men  worked  night  and  day  to  comi^lete  the  intrench- 
ments,  which  were  ten  feet  high,  with  a  ditch  eight  feet 
wide,  and  capable  of  inclosing  ten  thousand  men.    Rumors 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  121 

of  the  advance  of  Price  were  in  the  air,  and  it  was 
definitely  known  that  he  was  moving  toward  Lexington. 
Appeals  for  reinforcements  were  sent  to  St.  Louis,  but 
they  did  not  succeed  in  bringing  troops  to  the  aid  of  the 
garrison,  for  the  simple  reason  that  none  could  be  spared 
from  that  city. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  eleventh  of  Sep- 
tember, the  Union  scouts  and  pickets  were  driven  in  by 
the  enemy  only  a  few  miles  out  of  Lexington.  The  rebels 
followed  rapidly  and  attacked  one  of  the  angles  of  the 
fortifications,  but  not  very  vigorously.  The  fighting  was 
kept  up  on  the  twelfth  and  following  days,  while  the  rebel 
army  was  coming  up  and  making  its  preparations  for  the 
reduction  of  the  fortification  and  capture  of  the  garrison. 

There  were  nearly  three-thousand  mules  and  horses 
inside  the  fortifications,  and  as  the  rebel  shot  and  shell 
fell  amongst  them  they  caused  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 
Numbers  of  them  were  killed  and  their  bodies  lay  rotting 
in  the  sun,  the  garrison  being  too  much  occupied  with  de- 
fending the  position  to  give  attention  to  burying  the  dead 
animals  or  doing  any  other  work  of  the  camp.  Frequently 
some  of  the  aft'righted  animals  broke  loose  from  their 
fastenings  and  ran  wildly  about  the  camp,  and  it  was 
finally  found  advisable  to  allow  some  of  them  to  run  out- 
side, as  their  value  was  not  sufficient  compensation  for 
the  trouble  and  danger  of  caring  for  them. 

The  college  building  was  within  the  inclosure,  and  oc- 
cupied as  the  headquarters  of  Colonel  Mulligan.  Very 
naturally,  it  formed  a  fine  target  for  the  rebel  artillery, 
and  they  fired  away  at  it  with  good  effect.  One  night 
they  fired  hot  shot  at  it,  but  did  not  set  it  on  fire ;  had 
they  succeeded  in  doing  so  it  would  have  created  consider- 
able havoc  among  the  garrison,  as  the  ammunition  for  the 
defense  of  the  place  was  stored  in  the  cellar,  where  it  was 
covered  with  dirt  and  sods. 


122  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

The  rebels  went  to  work  leisurely,  as  before  stated. 
They  planted  some  of  their  artillery  on  the  river  bank, 
where  they  stopped  every  steamboat  going  up  or  down. 
They  seized  the  ferry-boats  that  connect  Lexington  with 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  thus  prevented  the 
crossing  of  reinforcements  which  were  moving  from 
Kansas  to  join  the  threatened  garrison.  Several  steam- 
boats were  thus  taken,  and  for  a  while,  at  least.  General 
Price  was  certainly  master  of  the  situation. 

The  country  around  Lexington  grows  a  large  amount 
of  hemp,  and  thousands  of  bales  of  this  article  were  stored 
in  the  warehouses  of  the  town.  The  rebels  rolled  out 
this  hemp,  and  with  it  constructed  movable  fortifications, 
with  which  they  proceeded  to  reduce  the  earthworks  of 
tTie  Union  army. 

And  this  is  the  way  it  was  done :  The  hemp  was 
thoroughly  wetted,  so  that  there  would  be  no  danger  of 
its  taking  fire,  and  then  the  bales  were  rolled  toward  the 
Union  works,  one  after  another,  until  they  formed  a 
breastwork ;  and  all  the  time  not  a  head  of  a  man  could 
be  seen.  Then  other  bales  were  brought  forward  and 
rolled  on  the  top  of  the  first  layer,  and  in  this  way  the 
assailants  had  a  defense  that  no  bullet  could  penetrate. 
Even  the  four  or  five  pieces  of  light  artillery  which  Colonel 
Mulligan  possessed  could  do  but  little  against  such  a 
bulwark  as  this. 

The  first  of  these  hemp  breastworks  was  thrown  up  to 
the  west  of  the  fort ;  another  on  the  north,  where  it  was 
partially  sheltered  by  timber,  followed  it  very  quickly. 
In  the  night  they  were  pushed  forward,  so  that  they  were 
within  very  short  range,  and  from  the  spaces  between 
the  bales  the  rebels  kept  up  a  fire  upon  every  Union  head 
that  was  shown  on  that  side  of  the  earthworks.  It  was 
a  repetition  of  the  trick  of  General  Jackson  with  the 
cotton  bales  of  New  Orleans  in  1815. 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  123 

There  were  several  houses  within  range  of  the  fort,  and 
these  were  speedily  occupied  by  the  rebels.  Then  from 
every  rock,  elevation,  fence,  gully  and  tree  bullets  were 
steadily  whizzing,  the  great  numbers  of  the  rebels  enabling 
them  to  keep  their  lines  of  attack  fully  manned  at  all 
times. 

Rations  were  growing  short  in  the  fortifications,  and 
tlie  men  were  worn  out  with  hard  work  and  the  necessity 
of  being  almost  constantly  on  duty.  The  stench  from  the 
dead  animals  within  the  lines  was  fearful,  and  threatened 
to  breed  an  epidemic ;  some  of  the  Home  Guards  were 
demoralized  and  wanted  to  surrender,  but  the  commander 
refused  to  entertain  the  idea  of  givmg  up  the  place. 


124  THE  LOST  AEMY. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

SURRENDER     OF     LEXINGTON — PRICe's      RETREAT     AND     ERE- 

mont's  advance. 

To  the  lack  of  ammunition  and  provisions,  the  stench 
of  the  dead  animals,  the  immense  preponderance  in 
numbers  of  the  enemy,  the  abundance  of  hemp  with 
which  the  rel)els  could  construct  breastworks,  the  be- 
leaguered garrison  had  to  face  an  additional  horror — that 
of  thirst. 

As  before  stated,  the  fortification  was  at  some  distance 
from  the  river,  and  within  the  limits  of  the  fortification 
there  were  two  cisterns,  which  were  soon  exhausted,  and 
just  outside  the  lines  were  two  springs,  which  afforded  a 
scanty  supply,  the  rest  being  taken  from  the  river.  As 
soon  as  the  besiegers  ascertained  this  state  of  affairs  they 
proceeded  to  cut  off  the  supply  of  water,  which  they  were 
able  to  do  with  their  greatly  superior  numbers. 

All  communication  with  the  river  was  severed,  and 
then  a  force  was  posted  in  a  position  to  fire  on  anybody 
who  went  to  get  water  at  the  springs.  Men  can  fight 
under  great  privations  of  food  and  with  short  supplies  of 
ammunition,  but  they  cannot  fight  against  thirst.  So  de- 
termined were  the  men  to  hold  out,  that  during  a  heavy 
rain  on  the  second  night  after  the  siege  began  every  tent 
and  wagon  cover  was  spread  to  catch  as  much  water  as 
possible  ;  in  this  way  a  great  amount  was  secured,  and 
more  was  obtained  by  spreading  blankets,  and  after- 
ward wringing  them  out. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  125 

Twice  a  white  flag  was  raised  on  the  ramparts  without 
the  authority  of  Colonel  Mulligan,  and  immediately  hauled 
down  as  soon  as  he  learned  of  it.  A  third  time  it  was 
raised,  also  without  his  authority ;  hut  when  he  consid- 
ered the  sufferings  of  his  men  and  found  there  was  no 
prospect  of  relief,  he  consented  to  surrender,  and  negotia- 
tions were  begun  immediately.  Unconditional  surrender 
were  the  terms  demanded  hy  the  besiegers,  and  under 
the  circumstances  the  besieged  were  forced  to  accept 
them.  They  piled  their  arms  and  handed  over  their  col- 
ors. Colonel  Mulligan  wept  as  he  gave  up  his  command, 
and  many  of  his  men  fairly  rolled  on  the  ground  in  their 
rage  at  having  been  defeated.  But  it  was  practically 
impossible  that  they  could  hold  out  any  longer,  and  the 
surrender  was  certainly  in  the  interests  of  humanity. 

The  losses  were  less  than  might  have  been  expected  in 
a  fight  that  lasted  from  the  eleventh  to  the  twentieth  of 
September,  though  it  must  be  remembered  that  for  the 
first  few  days  it  was  not  very  energetically  pushed  by 
the  besiegers.  The  water  supply  was  cut  off  on  the  seven- 
teenth and  from  that  time  to  the  twentieth  the  garrison 
had  no  water  beyond  what  they  caught  in  blankets,  tents 
and  wagon-covers  in  the  rain  that  has  been  mentioned. 
Less  than  two  hundred  were  killed  and  wounded  on  the 
Union  side,  and  about  the  same  number  on  that  of  the 
rebels.  Each  side  claimed  to  have  inflicted  a  greater 
loss  on  the  enemy  than  it  sustained  itself,  a  circumstance 
which  has  been  more  or  less  intimately  connected  with 
warfare  since  the  world  began. 

Immediately  after  the  surrender  the  rebels  swarmed 
around  the  prisoners,  and  while  some  treated  them  kindly, 
others  heaped  abuse  upon  them,  and  if  the  Unionists  had 
not  already  laid  down  their  arms  there  would  have  been 
a  good  prospect  of  a  renewal  of  the  fight.  The  prisoners 
were  paroled  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Confederacy 


126  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

until  regularly  exchanged,  and  then  they  were  set  across 
the  IMissouri  river  and  marched  to  a  point  near  the  Han- 
nibal and  St.  Joseph  Railway  and  told  to  go  where  they 
pleased.  During  this  march  they  were  in  charge  of 
General  Rains  and  his  brigade,  and  most  of  them  testified 
to  the  kindness  of  the  soldiers  of  Rain's  Brigade  and  of 
the  people  along  the  road  they  traveled. 

After  the  surrender  Lexington  was  a  lively  place.  With 
nearly  thirty  thousand  victorious  rebel  soldiery  in  the 
town,  and  many  of  these  soldiers  filled  with  whisky,  in 
addition  to  being  flushed  with  victory,  the  streets  were 
anything  but  quiet  and  orderly.  The  officers  of  the  Con- 
federates were  gentlemanly  enough,  but  as  for  the  soldiers 
they  were  anything  but  well-behaved.  It  required  all 
the  authority  of  the  officers  to  keep  the  men  from  break- 
ing loose  and  setting  the  town  on  fire  or  committing  some 
other  folly  or  barbarity.  In  some  instances  it  became 
necessary  to  order  the  men  out  of  town  and  form  camps 
three  or  four  miles  away,  which  no  one  could  leave  with- 
out express  permission. 

There  was  the  same  lack  of  uniforms  that  had  charac- 
terized the  troops  at  Wilson's  Creek,  only  a  few  hundreds 
of  all  the  army  under  General  Price  having  been  able  to 
obtain  the  Confederate  gray.  Some  of  the  generals  and 
colonels  Avere  uniformed,  but  many  were  not,  and  wore 
their  civilian  dress,  with  cloth  shoulder-straps  to  indicate 
their  rank.  Many  of  the  soldiers  fought  quite  independ- 
ently of  all  command,  and  took  their  positions  wherever 
they  were  best  suited. 

An  eye-witness  of  the  siege  said  that  the  mode  of 
fighting  was  well  illustrated  by  something  that  came  un- 
der his  observation.  There  was  an  old  Texan,  dressed  in 
a  l)uckskin  suit  and  armed  with  a  hunting-rifle  of  the 
kind  in  use  on  the  plains  before  the  war.  About  seven 
o'clock  every  morning  this  Texan  used  to  go  to  the  Con- 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  127 

federate  breastworks,  carrying  his  dinner  in  a  tin  pail. 
He  hunted  around  for  a  good  position  till  he  found  one, 
and  then  he  fired  away  whenever  he  saw  a  head  until  the 
sun  showed  the  meridian. 

Promptly  at  noon  he  knocked  off  for  an  hour  and  ate  his 
dinner.  Then  he  went  to  work  again  and  kept  at  it  till 
six  o'clock,  when  he  went  home  to  supper  and  to  spend 
the  night  in  peaceful  sleep.  Morning  saw  him  at  his  post 
again ;  and  thus  he  continued  at  his  daily  task  till  the 
surrender  took  place.  There  were  a  good  many  independ- 
ent warriors  of  this  sort,  and  if  they  did  not  kill  many  of 
their  adversaries  it  was  because  the  latter  kept  their  heads 
out  of  range. 

As  soon  as  Lexington  was  surrendered  Price  turned  his 
attention  to  gathering  supplies  and  recruits  from  the  rich 
and  populous  counties  along  the  river.  While  he  was  en- 
gaged at  this  business,  General  Fremont  assembled  an 
army  at  Jefferson  City  for  the  purpose  of  heading  him 
off.  A  portion  of  Fremont's  army  marched  from  Jefferson 
City  to  Tipton  and  Syracuse,  while  the  balance  was  sent 
forward  by  railway  to  the  same  point.  It  was  intended 
to  march  from  these  points  to  Springfield  and  reoccupy 
the  place,  which  Lyon's  army  had  been  compelled  to  give 
uj)  in  August  after  the  reverse  at  Wilson's  Creek. 

At  the  same  time  the  garrison  of  Rolla  was  strengthened, 
and  a  column  was  ordered  to  move  from  that  point  to 
join  the  main  force  at  Springfield.  This  movement  prom- 
ised to  give  occupation  to  Jack  and  Harry,  who  had  been 
chafing  at  their  inactivity  while  preparations  were  in  prog- 
ress. True,  they  had  scouting  expeditions  occasionally, 
but  as  they  did  not  succeed  in  finding  any  enemy,  except 
in  a  very  few  instances,  there  was  not  enough  to  make  the 
life  of  the  camp  at  all  exciting. 

Movements  were  delayed  by  a  lack  of  supplies  and 
transportation,  and  it  was  not  till  the  middle  of  October 


128  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

that  the  Union  forces  took  the  offensive.  In  the  main 
column  from  Tipton  and  Syracuse,  General  Sigel's  divis- 
ion had  the  advance ;  while  the  other  commanders  were 
waiting  for  transportation  Sigel  scoured  the  country  and 
picked  up  everything  that  could  be  of  use.  His  wagon- 
train  when  he  started  was  one  of  the  funniest  things  of 
the  kind  ever  known ;  there  were  some  army  wagons  of 
the  regulation  pattern,  but  there  were  more  emigrant 
wagons,  such  as  are  used  by  pioneers  seeking  new  homes 
in  the  far  West  beyond  the  lines  of  railway,  and  where 
steamboats  are  unknown. 

Then  he  had  stage-coaches,  family-carriages,  drays,  hay- 
carts,  in  fact  all  the  kinds  of  vehicles  known  to  that  part 
of  the  country,  and  whenever  a  pack-saddle  was  found  it 
was  taken  along.  And  the  motive  power  was  as  varied  as 
the  vehicles  to  be  moved ;  it  comprised  mules  and  horses 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  it  also  included  oxen,  and  even 
cows  where  the  latter  were  found  docile  enough  to  be  yoked 
or  harnessed.  There  was  a  rumor  that  some  of  Sigel's 
men  attempted  to  harness  up  a  drove  of  pigs  ;  that  they 
took  the  pigs  along  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  but 
probably  for  some  other  purpose  than  breaking  them  in 
as  draft  animals.  However  burdensome  to  carry  a  pig 
may  be,  he  has  never  been  found  a  satisfactory  beast  of 
burden. 

Before  Fremont  could  get  his  army  in  motion.  Price  had 
taken  the  alarm  and  evacuated  Lexington.  He  was  too 
wily  to  wait  till  his  enemy  could  get  in  front  of  him  to 
cut  him  off,  and  the  most  that  Fremont  could  hope  for 
was  that  Price  would  make  a  stand  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Springfield  and  give  chance  for  a  battle. 

Fremont  did  not  encounter  any  enemy  on  his  southward 
march  until  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Springfield. 
When  within  fifty  miles  of  that  place  he  sent  forward  two 
companies  of  his  body-guard,  comprising  about  one  hun- 


The  Fight  for  \\  atek. 


Paxie  72. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  129 

drecl  and  fifty  men,  under  the  command  of  Major  Zagonyi, 
and  composed  of  most  excellent  materials  for  a  cavalry 
squadron.  The  members  of  the  body-guard  were  from  the 
best  class  of  young  men  of  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati.  From 
the  completeness  of  the  body-guard's  outfit  and  the  dashing 
appearance  it  presented,  it  was  derisively  known  as  the 
kid-gloved  regiment.  It  consisted  of  four  companies  of 
cavalry,  and  the  intention  was  to  increase  it  to  a  full 
regiment  of  ten  companies,  an  intention  never  carried  out. 
After  the  removal  of  Fremont  the  famous  organization 
was  sent  to  St.  Louis  and  disbanded. 

Well,  the  body-guard  got  within  eight  miles  of  Spring- 
field without  seeing  the  enemy,  but  at  that  distance  from 
town  it  found  a  brigade  of  infantry,  with  some  cavalry, 
drawn  up  to  receive  them,  IMajor  Zagonyi  ordered  a 
charge,  and  it  was  made  in  gallant  style.  It  was  like  the 
charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  at  Balaklava — it  was  magnif- 
icent, but  it  was  not  war.  The  enemy  was  routed  and 
the  town  was  occupied  only  to  be  abandoned  as  soon  as 
night  came  on,  for  the  very  natural  fear  of  a  surprise, 
which  might  easily  have  been  disastrous  to  the  seventy 
or  eighty  men  that  remained  of  Zagonyi's  command,  the 
rest  having  been  killed,  wounded,  or  scattered  in  the 
fight.  Fifteen  were  killed  and  twenty-seven  wounded, 
and  fully  fifty  horses  were  killed  or  rendered  useless  by 
reason  of  wounds  and  over-riding. 

Jack  and  Harry  discussed  the  affair,  when  the  news 
reached  them,  with  the  coolness  and  critical  air  of  major- 
generals. 

"  What  was  the  use  of  such  a  charge  as  that?"  said 
Jack,  with  his  eye  fixed  on  Harry  as  though  he  would 
pierce  him. 

"  It  was  a  splendid  fight,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  did 
great  credit  to  the  men  that  made  it." 

"  Nobody  says  it  did  n't,"  responded  Jack ;  "  but  just 
9 


130  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

look  at  the  waste  of  life,  and  nothing  to  show  for  it.  The 
rebels  were  preparing  to  leave  Springfield;  in  fact,  the 
two  thousand  that  Zagonyi  says  he  encountered  were  only 
the  rear-guard  of  Price's  army,  and  when  our  army  came 
along  it  could  have  occupied  the  town,  as  it  afterwards 
did,  without  any  opposition.  The  lives  of  those  soldiers 
were  just  thrown  away,  and  it  is  n't  the  only  time  men 
have  laeen  sacrificed  just  to  enable  somebody  to  show  oft'." 
Harry  nodded  assent,  and  the  conversation  shifted  to 
other  topics. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  131 


CHAPTER  XX. 

OCCUPATIOX    OF    SPRINGFIELD — ANOTHER  BATTLE    IMMINENT. 

Fremont's  army  reached  Springfield  two  days  after 
the  charge  of  the  body-guard,  the  rebels  retiring  as  the 
advance  of  the  column  approached.  There  was  an  amus- 
ing incident  connected  with  the  charge  which  may  here 
be  related. 

A  corporal  and  half  a  dozen  men  became  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  body-guard  and  straggled  into  Springfield 
after  the  others  had  left.  While  the  corporal  was  unde- 
cided what  to  do,  a  flag  of  truce  came  in  from  the  rebels, 
asking  a  suspension  of  hostilities  to  permit  the  burial  of 
the  dead. 

The  corporal  received  the  flag  of  truce  at  the  court- 
house, and,  on  learning  the  object  of  the  visit,  said  he 
must  consult  his  general,  who  was  lying  down  in  an  imier 
room  of  the  building.  He  disappeared  for  several  minutes, 
and  after  a  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  for  a  parley  with 
the  imaginary  general,  he  returned  with  the  partial  and 
conditional  approval  of  the  request.  He  cautioned  the 
officer  bearing  the  flag  of  truce  not  to  approach  a  certain 
piece  of  woods  near  the  scene  of  the  fight  until  word  could 
be  sent  there  that  a  truce  had  been  arranged ;  otherwise 
there  would  be  danger  of  a  collision  between  the  troops, 
as  the  general's  division  was  too  much  exasperated  to 
be  under  control.  He  said  it  would  take  not  less  than 
three  hours  to  arrange  the  matter,  and  meantime  the 
burying  party  must  remain  away.     The  flag  of  truce  de- 


132  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

parted,  and  the  corporal  hastily  summoned  his  men  and 
decamped  in  the  direction  which  his  chief  had  taken. 

A  ruse  not  unlike  this  was  played  by  the  colonel  of  a 
Kansas  regiment  that  was  suddenly  confronted  while  on 
the  march  through  western  Missouri  by  a  force  four  times 
its  own  strength.  The  colonel  immediately  deployed  his 
entire  regiment  into  a  skirmish-line  and  boldly  advanced 
to  battle.  The  rebels  naturally  tliought  that  when  an 
entire  regiment  was  deployed  as  skirmishers  there  must 
be  a  good  sized  force  behind  it.  They  retired  carefully 
and  in  good  order,  the  Kansas  colonel  pressing  them  suf- 
ficiently close  to  give  the  impression  that  he  was  anxious 
for  a  fight.  By  this  ruse,  which  required  a  good  deal  of 
nerve  to  undertake,  a  battle  was  avoided  and  the  prestige 
of  victory  went  to  the  Unionists. 

The  day  after  Fremont's  advance  reached  Springfield 
the  column  from  Rolla  made  its  appearance,  and  went 
into  camp  just  outside  the  town.  Jack  and  Harry  were 
attached  to  the  wagon-train  as  before,  but  with  the 
advantage  in  their  favor  that  they  were  allowed  to  retain 
the  horses  which  had  been  given  to  them  af tei'  the  capture 
of  the  rebel  captain,  and  therefore  they  were  able  to  see 
more  of  the  country  than  under  their  former  circum- 
stances. Tliere  had  been  no  opposition  on  the  march, 
and  therefore  the  trip  from  Rolla  had  been  devoid  of 
incidents  of  importance.  The  boys  went  several  times 
with  scouting  parties  that  were  sent  out  to  examhie  the 
country,  on  both  sides  of  the  line  of  march,  but  however 
much  they  wanted  to  get  into  a  brush  with  the  enemy 
they  could  not  find  an  enemy  to  brush  with.  All  the 
men  who  sympathized  with  the  rebellion  seemed  to  have 
gone  to  the  rebel  army,  with  the  exception  of  those  who 
were  too  old  for  service. 

But  if  the  men  were  absent,  the  women  were  not;  and 
what  was  more,  they  were  not  slow,  in  most  cases,  to 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  133 

make  known  their  feelings.  Tliey  denounced  the  "  Yan- 
kees "  and  "  Dutcli "  in  the  bitterest  terms,  taunting 
them  with  robbing  and  killing  honest  people  who  were 
fighting  in  defense  of  their  homes ;  charging  them  with 
being  cowards  and  hirelings,  and  sometimes  cursing  them 
roundly  in  language  altogether  unfit  for  ears  polite  or  lips 
refined. 

One  day  a  woman  poured  upon  Jack  and  Harry  a  volley 
of  vituperation  tliat  was  delivered  with  such  rapidity  as 
to  render  fully  half  of  it  unintelligible.  Jack  was  at  first 
inclined  to  anger,  and  started  to  "  talk  back,"  but  Harry 
restrained  him,  and  asked  the  woman  if  that  was  all  she 
had  to  say. 

"  All  I  've  got  to  say  ?  "  she  screamed  ;  "  no,  I  've  got 
more  to  say ;  and  that  is  that  you're  a  pair  of  brainless 
boys  that  sense  is  wasted  on.  'T  ain't  no  use  talking  to 
such  babies  without  no  more  beards  than  the  back  of  my 
hand." 

"  Did  you  ever  read  Washington's  farewell  address  to 
his  army,  madam  ?"  said  Harry,  with  the  utmost  gravity 
depicted  on  his  face. 

"  No ;  I  don't  know  nothing  about  it,"  she  replied. 
"  Who 's  he,  I  'd  like  to  know ;  one  of  your  Dutch  thieves, 
I  s'pose  ?  "  and  her  voice  came  down  a  note  or  two  from 
its  very  high  pitch. 

"  He  was  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen,"  said  Harry,  with  his  mock 
gravity  continued  throughout. 

"  I  s'pose  he  's  one  of  your  Dutch  generals  or  colonels," 
retorted  the  woman.  "  He  'd  better  not  come  around  here, 
or  I  '11  tell  him  what  I  think  of  him  and  all  his  other 
Dutchmen." 

"  He  will  not  come,  madam  ;  I  '11  take  care  that  he 
does  n't.  But  in  his  farewell  address  he  remarked  that 
there  was  nothing  half  so  sweet  in  life  as  two  souls  with- 


134  THE  LOST  A BMY. 

out  a  single  thought,  and  two  hearts  that  beets  and  cab- 
bages could  not  turn  from  their  faithful  allegiance." 

"  What  's  that  got  to  do  with  us,  I'd  like  to  know,"  said 
she.  "  He  'd  better  not  come  around  here  alone  talking  that 
way ;  but  if  he  fetches  along  his  Dutch  thieves,  we  can't 
help  ourselves.  You-'uns  ought  to  go  home  if  you  want 
to  save  yourselves  from  killing,  for  the  Southern  men 
won't  leave  one  of  ye  alive." 

"  That  is  what  I  was  saying  to  my  friend  here,"  re- 
sponded Harry  ;  "  and  now  that  we  've  had  our  call,  we  '11 
take  your  advice  and  go." 

Away  they  I'ode,  and  had  a  good  laugh  as  soon  as  they 
were  out  of  sight  of  the  house.  Jack  admitted  that 
Harry  had  shown  good  sense  in  making  light  of  the  vitu- 
peration they  received,  and  said  he  would  follow  the 
same  plan  in  futui-e. 

"  It 's  no  use  trying  to  convert  these  people  to  our  way 
of  thinking,"  said  Harry,  as  they  rode  along  on  their  way 
to  rejoin  the  column.  "  Argument  is  wasted  on  them  just 
as  it  would  be  wasted  on  us.  Nobody  could  win  us  over 
to  believe  in  secession,  and  why  should  we  expect  these 
men  and  women,  born  and  bred  with  slaves  around  them, 
to  regard  slavery  and  what  comes  of  it  as  we  regard  it." 

Jack  acquiesced  in  Harry's  theory,  and  he  furtlier  ad- 
mitted that  if  he  had  been  born  in  the  South  and  brought 
up  there,  it  was  fair  to  suppose  that  he  would  have  be- 
lieved in  state-rights  and  the  other  principles  that  the 
Southern  leaders  had  advocated  since  the  formation  of  the 
republic. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  column  at  Springfield  and  its 
junction  with  the  forces  of  General  Fremont,  there  was  a 
prolonged  halt  to  wait  for  supplies  for  the  army,  prepara- 
tory to  a  further  advance  into  the  enemy's  country.  The 
rebels  fell  back  toward  the  Arkansas  line,  and  it  was  re- 
ported that  a  force  was  advancing  to  join  them  from 


THE  LOST  AR^fY.  135 

Arkansas,  when  they  would  be  ready  to  meet  us.  Scout- 
ing parties  were  sent  out,  and  ascertained  that  there  was 
practically  no  enemy  within  fifty  miles,  the  rebel  army 
being"  concentrated  at  Cassville,  where  they  waited  the 
reinforcements  mentioned.  The  country  far  beyond 
Wilson's  Creek  was  entirely  safe,  only  a  stray  scouting 
party  of  rebels  having  been  seen  for  several  days. 

Jack  and  Harry  obtained  permission  to  visit  Wilson's 
Creek  and  the  battle-ground  from  which  they  had  been 
driven  eleven  weeks  before.  "  The  thing  that  impressed 
us  most,"  said  Jack,  in  his  letter  to  his  father,  which  he 
wrote  the  evening  afterward,  "  was  the  absolute  stillness 
of  the  place  in  contrast  to  the  roar  of  artillery  and  the 
crash  of  the  small  arms  on  the  day  of  the  battle.  There 
was  no  sound  whatever  to  break  it,  except  the  occasional 
chirphig  of  a  bird  or  the  rippling  of  the  creek,  except  our 
own  voices  and  the  breaking  of  the  twigs  under  the  feet 
of  our  horses.  At  every  step  we  took  we  could  not  help 
contrasting  the  cool  autumn  morning  with  that  hot  day  in 
August  when  shot  and  shell  and  bullets  were  flying  all 
around  and  the  sound  of  the  cannon  was  like  rapid  peals 
of  thunder. 

"My  horse  stumbled  over  something  in  the  grass,  and  I 
looked  down  to  see  what  it  was.  It  was  a  human  skull 
on  which  his  foot  had  fallen,  and  the  skull  turning  had 
caused  him  to  stumble  as  he  did.  A  few  feet  away  lay  the 
dismembered  skeleton  to  which  the  skull  evidently  be- 
longed. It  was  probably  the  remains  of  a  soldier  who 
had  been  wounded  and  crawled  under  a  tree  for  shelter 
and  died  there,  as  the  spot  was  among  the  trees,  and  away 
from  the  beaten  track.  There  were  bits  of  cloth  scattered 
over  the  ground,  and  it  was  evident  that  birds  or  wild 
animals  had  been  at  work  there  ;  and  also  upon  another 
skeleton  a  little  further  on,  which  was  disturbed  and 
scattered  like  the  first. 


136  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"  On  the  battle-field  there  were  numerous  graves,  that 
showed  how  severe  had  been  the  carnage ;  some  were 
single  graves,  while  others  were  sufBciently  broad  to  con- 
tain a  dozen  or  more  bodies.  Fragments  of  weapons, 
pieces  of  the  broken  wheel  of  a  gun-carriage,  and  of  the 
shell  that  destroyed  it,  were  lying  all  around,  and  the 
trees  everywhere  were  seamed  and  scarred  by  bullets. 
Then  there  were  skeletons  of  horses  lying  where  the  ani- 
mals fell,  and  these  had  also  been  the  prey  of  birds  or 
animals,  to  judge  by  the  general  aspect  of  dismember- 
ment. 

"  We  looked  for  the  spot  where  General  Lyon  fell,  and 
found  it  marked  by  an  inscription  carved  upon  the  nearest 
tree.  A  farmer  living  near  the  battle-field  came  out  to 
show  us  around,  and  he  told  us  that  the  rebel  soldiers 
cut  oti:  the  glossy  mane  and  tail  of  CTcneral  Lyon's  horse 
and  divided  it  among  them,  to  wear  as  badges  of  honor 
or  send  home  to  their  friends.  Then  they  took  away 
the  teeth  and  bones  as  souvenirs  of  the  fight,  and  Avhen 
these  were  exhausted  the  teeth  and  bones  of  other 
horses  were  secured  as  relics  of  the  general's  favorite 
steed. 

"We  rode  over  and  around  Bloody  Hill  and  then  descend- 
ed to  the  valley  of  the  creek,  where  the  rebels  had  their 
camp  on  the  morning  of  the  battle.  Here  there  were 
more  traces  of  the  conflict  in  the  shape  of  the  ashes  of  the 
wagons  that  were  set  on  fire  at  the  time  of  Sigel's  attack, 
and  the  bits  of  iron  which  the  fire  could  not  consume. 
And  all  the  time  the  stillness  impressed  us  so  much  that 
it  was  almost  painful." 

They  returned  to  Springfield  by  the  Fayetteville  road, 
having  gone  to  the  battle-field  by  the  route  which  was 
followed  by  General  Lyon. 

The  next  day  there  was  a  rumor  that  the  rebels  had 
been  reinforced  and  were  advancing.     A  battle  could  be 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  137 

looked  for  very  soon,  and  the  whole  camp  was  m  a  state 
of  excitement. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  of  November  the  scouts 
brought  positive  information  that  the  rebels  were  advanc- 
ing, and  the  next  day  it  was  reported  that  they  were 
camped  on  the  old  battleground  at  Wilson's  Creek  and 
would  fight  there.  The  general  officially  announced  it^ 
and  gave  orders  for  an  advance  on  the  following  day. 

The  army  was  ready  to  move,  pickets  were  doubled  and 
grand  guards  increased,  and  a  battery  of  four  guns  was 
placed  on  the  Fayetteville  road  to  greet  the  enemy  if  he 
chose  to  come  on.  Jack  and  Harry  slept  that  night  with 
their  horses  saddled  ;  their  sleep  was  more  in  theory  than 
practice,  as  they  were  so  excited  that  they  hardly  closed  an 
eye  durmg  the  night. 


138  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ARMY  SCOUTING REFUGEES  AND  THEIR  SUFFERINGS. 

For  some  time  there  had  been  rumors  that  General 
Fremont  was  about  to  be  removed  from  the  command  of 
the  Western  Department.  It  was  said  that  the  authorities 
at  Washington  were  greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  way  he 
had  managed  affairs,  and  thought  he  gave  more  attention  to 
making  a  grand  display  than  in  pushing  operations  against 
the  enemy.  Rumors  of  the  impending  change  grew  more 
and  more  numerous,  and  finally,  on  the  second  of  Novem- 
ber, General  Fremont  was  officially  notified  of  his  removal 
from  command  and  the  appointment  of  General  Hunter 
in  his  place. 

Then  on  the  third  came  the  report  that  the  enemy  was 
in  force  at  Wilson's  Creek,  and  tlie  plan  of  battle  was 
formed.  But  the  arrival  of  General  Hunter  at  midnight 
caused  the  order  for  the  troops  to  march  at  daybreak  to 
be  countermanded,  and  so  the  army  did  not  move  out  to 
fight,  greatly  to  the  disappointment  of  our  young  friends. 

It  was  fortunate  for  Fremont's  reputation  that  the  army 
did  not  make  the  proposed  mai'ch,  as  the  fact  would  have 
been  revealed,  which  was  discovered  next  day  by  a  recon- 
noitering  party  which  General  Hunter  sent  out,  that  there 
was  not  a  rebel  camped  on  the  old  battleground  or  any 
where  near  it.  A  scouting  party  of  about  fifty  men  had 
been  in  the  neighborhood,  but  they  did  not  remain  an  hour; 
they  had  simply  satisfied  themselves  that  the  Union  army 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  139 

was  still  in  Springfield,  and  then  returned  to  their  army 
at  Cassville. 

"  How  could  General  Fremont  have  been  so  deceived  ?" 
was  the  very  natural  inquiry  of  Jack  when  it  became  known 
exactly  how  little  foundation  there  was  for  the  report  of 
the  near  presence  of  the  enemy, 

"  He  was  deceived  by  his  scouts,  I  presume,"  said  Harry, 
"  Suppose  we  ask  one  of  our  friends,  who  '  11  know  more 
about  it," 

So  they  referred  the  matter  to  one  of  the  soldiers 
•attached  to  the  commissary  department,  and  the  latter 
explained  as  follows  : 

"You  understand,"  said  he,  "that  a  general  must 
depend  a  good  deal  on  what  his  scouts  tell  him,  and  to 
avoid  being  deceived  by  them  he  is  compelled  to  use  a 
great  deal  of  judgment.  There  are  three  classes  of  scouts  : 
those  who  are  really  brave,  cool  and  truthful ;  those  who 
intend  to  be  honest,  but  are  timid  and  credulous,  and  lastly 
those  who  are  born  liars  and  boasters.  The  first  are  not 
always  to  be  had,  and  at  best  are  scarce,  and  so  a  general's 
scouting  force  is  largely  made  up  of  the  second  and  third 
classes.  The  second  class  get  their  information  from  the 
frightened  inhabitants,  and  the  fifty  or  so  that  composed 
the  scouting  party  of  rebels  which  came  as  far  as  Wil- 
son's Creek  were  easily  magnified  into  five  or  ten  thou- 
sand; the  imagination  and  fears  of  the  scouts  doubled 
the  numbers  given  by  the  inhabitants,  and  thus  the  ficti- 
tious army  was  created.  As  for  the  liars  and  boasters,  they 
are  always,  if  their  stories  could  be  believed,  doing  prodigies 
of  valor  and  whipping  ten  or  twenty  times  their  number 
of  the  enemy, 

"  What  they  principally  do  is  to  scare  the  people  through 
whose  country  they  ride,  and  many  of  them  are  not  above 
plundering  after  a  fasliion  no  better  than  downright 
robbery.    Generally  they  are  in  no  hurry  to   meet  the 


140  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

enemy  face  to  face,  but  confine  their  scouting  to  places 
tliat  are  entirely  safe." 

The  soldier  knew  what  he  was  talking  about.  Among 
Fremont's  followers  were  several  men  of  this  sort  with  the 
rank  of  captain  or  lieutenant,  and  several  who  were  unat- 
tached to  any  command  and  had  an  air  of  mystery  about 
them.  One  of  them  used  to  ride  out  of  camp  about  sunset 
as  though  bent  on  an  important  mission.  He  would  return 
in  the  morning  with  a  thrilling  story  of  a  night's  ride,  in 
which  he  had  several  times  been  fired  upon  by  rebel  scout- 
ing parties,  and  had  used  his  revolver  with  such  effect  as 
to  leave  five  or  perhaps  ten  of  his  enemies  dead  upon  the 
ground. 

The  fact  was  he  went  only  a  mile  or  two,  and  there 
spent  the  night  at  a  farmhouse,  having  previously  in- 
formed himself  as  to  the  entire  safety  of  the  place. 

Another  so-called  scout  was  a  forager  whose  equal  is 
rarely  to  be  seen.  Whenever  the  army  went  into  camp 
he  would  take  half-a-dozen  companions  and  start  on  a  for- 
aging expedition,  from  which  he  returned  with  a  varied 
assortment  of  things,  most  of  which  were  utterly  unsuited 
to  the  uses  of  an  army  in  the  field  and  had  to  be  left  be- 
hind. One  day  he  brought  back  a  wagon  drawn  by  two 
oxen  and  two  cows,  and  with  a  horse  attached  behind  it. 
Inside  the  wagon  he  had  a  ]3air  of  bull-terrier  pups  about 
three  months  old,  a  hoopskirt,  and  other  articles  of  the 
feminine  wardrobe,  a  baby's  cradle  and  also  a  grain-reap- 
ing one,  a  rocking-chair,  some  battered  railway-spikes, 
three  door-mats  and  a  side-saddle.  Another  time  he  re- 
turned with  a  family  carriage  drawn  by  a  horse  and  a 
mule,  and  containing  a  litter  of  young  kittens  without  the 
mother-cat,  a  bird-cage  with  a  frightened  canary  in  it,  an 
empty  parrot-cage,  several  bound  volumes  of  sermons  by 
celebrated  English  divines,  and  a  box  of  garden-seeds. 

This  same  scout  got  into  trouble  afterwards  in  a  queer 


THE  LOST  AIi3IY.  141 

sort  of  a  way.  While  on  a  foraging  tour  at  one  time  he 
secured  a  lot  of  ready-made  clothing,  which  he  found  in 
a  trunk  where  some  salt  belonging  to  the  rebel  author- 
ities had  been  stored.  The  quartermaster  refused  to  re- 
ceive the  trunk  and  contents,  and  so  the  captain  carried 
it  to  St.  Louis  and  took  it  to  the  hotel  where  he  temporarily 
stopped. 

It  so  happened  that  some  detectives  were  hunting  for 
a  suspected  thief,  who  was  said  to  be  stopping  at  the  hotel. 
They  got  into  the  captain's  room  by  mistake  and  searched 
his  trunk  while  he  was  absent ;  they  did  not  find  the  arti- 
cles they  sought  but  they  did  find  thirteen  coats  of  differ- 
ent sizes,  without  any  waistcoats  or  trousers  to  match. 
This  was  considered  such  a  remarkable  wardrobe  for  a 
gentleman  to  carry,  that  they  did  not  hesitate  to  arrest 
him  on  general  principles.  He  was  locked  up  over  night 
and  did  not  succeed  in  obtaining  his  liberty  until  the  quar- 
termaster could  be  found  to  show  that  the  goods  were 
not  stolen,  but  were  simply  the  spoils  of  war. 

Immediately  after  his  removal,  General  Fremont,  who 
had  been  in  command  just  one  hundred  days,  returned 
with  his  staff  to  St.  Louis,  and  the  army  was  ordered  back 
to  the  line  of  the  railway.  On  the  ninth  of  November  it 
evacuated  Springfield,  which  was  soon  after  occupied  by 
General  Price,  and  the  second  campaign  of  the  Southwest 
was  over.  General  Hunter  remained  only  fifteen  days  in 
command  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Halleck,  who 
proceeded  to  undo  jn-etty  nearly  everything  that  Fremont 
had  established. 

Late  in  November  Jack  and  Harry  foimd  themselves 
once  more  in  Kolla,  where  a  part  of  the  army  of  the  South- 
west went  into  winter  quarters.  The  rebels  were  con- 
tent to  remain  in  Spring-field,  though  they  sent  scouting 
and  foraging  parties  at  irregular  intervals  to  scour  the 
country  between  those  two  points  and  gather  whatever 


142  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

supplies  could  be  obtained.  The  commander  at  Kolla  also 
sent  out  similar  expeditions,  which  were  frequently  ac- 
companied by  our  young  friends,  and  thus  each  army  was 
fairly  well  informed  as  to  what  the  other  was  doing. 

The  retirement  of  the  Union  forces  gave  the  rebels 
great  encouragement,  and  they  pushed  their  recruiting 
through  the  interior  country  with  great  activity.  They 
threatened  to  capture  St.  Louis,  at  least  in  Avords,  and  so 
loud  were  their  promises  that  many  of  their  sympathizers 
believed  them. 

During  January,  1862,  the  camp  at  Rolla  was  increased 
by  the  arrival  of  troops  from  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Kansas, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  spring  was  to  oi:)en  with  an- 
other campaign.  General  Samuel  R.  Curtis  arrived  and 
took  command,  transportation  was  cut  down  as  much  as 
possible,  stores  were  accumulated  and  sent  forward  as  far 
as  the  Gasconade  river,  a  cavalry  division  under  General 
Carr  was  pushed  forward,  and  by  degrees  the  country  was 
occupied  to  within  fifty  miles  of  Springfield,  where  Price's 
army  was  known  to  be  in  force.  It  was  ascertained  that 
McCulloch's  army  had  gone  into  a  winter  camp  at  Cross 
Hollows,  in  Arkansas,  and  would  probably  move  north  in 
the  spring  to  join  Price,  or  in  case  of  a  Union  advance 
would  wait  where  it  was  until  Price  could  fall  back  to 
that  position. 

Among  the  regiments  that  came  to  Rolla  was  the  Ninth 
Iowa,  which  contained  several  oflScers  and  many  men  of 
the  First  Iowa,  which  had  been  mustered  out  of  service 
after  its  return  from  Wilson's  Creek,  its  time  having  ex- 
pired. Its  colonel,  William  Vandever,  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  a  brigade,  so  that  the  control  of  the  regi- 
ment fell  to  its  lieutenant-colonel,  F.  J.  Ilerron,  who  had 
fought  at  Wilson's  Creek  as  a  captain  in  the  First  Iowa. 

Jack  and  Harry  were  overjoyed  to  see  so  many  of  their 
old  acquaintances,  and  at  the  request  of  Colonel  Vandever 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  143 

the  two  youths  were  turned  over  to  his  care.  They  had 
made  such  a  good  record  in  their  scouting  services  during 
their  stay  at  Rolla,  that  Colonel  Vandever,  whom  we  will 
now  call  general,  as  he  was  shortly  afterward  promoted 
to  that  rank,  decided  to  make  use  of  them  as  scouts  and 
orderlies  whenever  occasion  offered.  They  were  allowed 
to  retain  their  horses,  of  which  they  had  taken  excellent 
care.  The  animals  showed  much  attachment  to  their 
young  masters,  and  evidently  were  quite  reconciled  to 
serving  under  the  Union  flag  instead  of  the  rebel  one, 
beneath  which  they  were  captured. 

Orders  to  advance  were  impatiently  waited,  and  at  last 
they  came.  Early  in  February  the  army  of  General 
Curtis  moved  out  of  Rolla  with  drums  beating  and 
trumpets  sounding,  and  every  indication  of  a  determina- 
tion to  push  on  to  victory.  Sixteen  thousand  men,  in  the 
proper  proportions  of  infantry,  artillery  and  cavalry, 
composed  the  force  which  was  to  carry  the  flag  across 
the  borders  of  Missouri  and  into  the  rebellious  state  of 
Arkansas. 

But  before  we  follow  the  army  of  the  Southwest  and 
make  note  of  its  fortunes,  let  us  briefly  turn  our  gaze  else- 
where. 


144  TUE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  GENERAL    ADVANCE A    SCOUTING  PARTY   AND  AVHAT    CAME 

OF  IT. 

Careful  students  of  the  war  did  not  fail  to  see  that 
there  Avas  a  systematic  advance  along  the  whole  line  from 
Virginia  to  Missouri  during  the  early  part  of  February, 
186'2.  During  the  winter  work  on  the  gun-boat  fleet  had 
been  vigorously  pushed  and  many  steamboats  puchased 
or  hired  as  transports.  As  fast  as  the  ironclads  were 
ready  to  move  they  were  sent  to  Cairo,  Illinois  where  the 
transports  Avere  assembled  and  vast  amounts  of  stores 
had  been  accumulated.  General  Grant  was  in  command  at 
Cairo,  and  that  aqueous  town  was  a  vast  encampment. 
At  the  same  time  the  army  at  RoUa  had  been  strengthened, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  and  the  movement  of  each  force 
was  practically  simultaneous. 

Nor  was  this  all.  From  Washington  the  army  moved 
into  Virginia,  and  the  checkered  campaign  of  1862  began. 
Tlien  a  fleet  and  an  army  went  down  the  Atlantic  coast 
and  captured  New-Berne,  North  Carolina,  and  farther 
down  the  coast  there  was  an  aggressive  move  against 
Charleston.  Then  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  a  fleet 
of  war  ships  appeared,  backed  by  a  fleet  of  transports 
carrying  a  land  force  ready  to  occupy  and  hold  whatever 
the  fleet'  secured.  In  Kentucky  the  Army  of  the  Ohio 
occupied  Bowling  Green,  and  prepared  to  move  upon 
Nashville. 

The  first  success  along  the  whole  line  of  attack  was 


THE  LOST  AEMY.  145 

when  on  the  sixth  of  February  the  fleet  under  Admiral 
Foote  bombarded  Fort  Henry  and  compelled  its  surrender. 
Then  followed  the  attack  on  Fort  Donelson,  when  General 
Grant  "  moved  immediately  upon  the  works  "  of  General 
Buckner  and  took  him  a  prisoner,  together  with  all  those 
of  liis  garrison  that  could  not  escape.  The  whole  North 
was  in  a  blaze  of  excitement  as  the  news  was  published 
in  the  papers,  which  appeared  in  the  form  of-"  Extras," 
with  a  great  many  lines  of  heading  to  a  very  few  lines  of 
news.  Such  a  sensation  had  not  happened  since  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  in  the  previous  year — and,  unlike  that  of  Bull 
Run,  the  story  was  one  of  victory  and  not  of  disaster. 

The  effect  of  the  news  in  a  city  like  St.  Louis,  whose 
population  was  divided  in  sentiment,  was  a  curious  study 
to  the  outsider.  A  man's  sympathies  could  be  known 
half  a  block  away  by  the  expression  of  his  face  and  the 
air  with  whicli  he  greeted  his  friends.  If  he  was  for  the 
Union  his  head  was  high  in  the  air  and  his  countenance 
showed  him  to  be  "smiling  all  over;"  but  if  he  sympa- 
thized with  the  rebellion,  his  steps  were  sad  and  slow  and 
his  head  was  downcast,  as  though  he  had  lost  a  ten  cent 
piece  or  a  diamond  ring,  and  was  on  the  lookout  to  find 
it.  There  was  no  occasion  to  ask  a  man  how  he  felt ;  the 
subject  was  too  momentous  to  permit  him  to  conceal  his 
thoughts. 

When  the  newsboys  appeared  with  the  extras  they 
were  eagerly  patronized  by  the  Union  men  and  as  eagerly 
repelled  by  the  Secessionists.  One  boy  had  the  temerity  to 
enter  the  store  of  a  noted  Secessionist  and  shout  in  sten- 
torian tones,  "  'Ere's  yer  extra ;  all  about  the  capture  of 
Fort  Donelson ! " 

That  boy  soon  had  reason  to  believe  that  his  presence 

was  not  desired  there  and  his  wares   were  unwelcome. 

He  sold  no  papers   in   that  store,  and   moreover   he   was 

ejected  from  it  a  moment  after  entering  on  the  toe  of  a 

10 


146  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

number  ten  boot.  His  ejectment  was  no  trifling  matter 
as  it  carried  him  quite  to  tlie  edge  of  the  sidewalk.  He 
got  up  again,  as  tliough  nothing  liad  happened,  and  went 
on  with  his  business  as  usual. 

It  is  sad  to  record  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  drink- 
ing in  St.  Louis  over  the  result  of  Grant's  movement 
against  Donelson.  The  Union  men  drank  in  joy  and  con- 
gratulation, while  the  Secessionists  did  likewise  to  drown 
their  sorrow.  In  Chicago  and  other  Xorthern  cities  the 
drinking  was  more  one-sided  than  in  St.  Louis,  but  the 
average  to  each  inhabitant  was  not  greater. 

It  is  said  that  on  some  of  the  dead-walls  of  Chicago 
the  day  of  the  fall  of  Donelson  a  placard  was  posted  to 
the  effect  that  every  man  found  sober  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening  would  be  arrested  for  disloyalty.  History 
does  not  record  that  there  were  any  arrests  in  Chicago 
that  day  for  disloyalty.  Whether  there  was  anybody 
around  at  that  hour  capable  of  making  arrests  is  also 
without  record. 

Having  thus  taken  a  general  survey  of  the  field,  we 
will  return  to  Jack  and  Harry,  whom  we  left  Avitli  the 
Army  of  the  Southwest. 

The  army  moved,  as  before  stated,  and  encountered  no 
opposition  as  it  advanced  beyond  the  Gasconade  river 
and  occupied  the  town  of  Lebanon,  sixty-five  miles  from 
Rolla.  Harry  called  Jack's  attention  to  the  desolation 
that  seemed  to  prevail  along  the  route,  compared  with 
what  the  road  was  when  they  first  saw  it  on  the  retreat 
from  Wilson's  Creek.  Many  houses  had  been  burned, 
and  many  of  those  that  escaped  the  torch  were  without 
occupants.  In  every  instance  where  inquiry  was  made  it 
Avas  found  that  the  burned  or  deserted  house  had  been 
the  property  of  a  Union  citizen  who  had  been  driven 
away  by  his  rebel  neighbors  or  by  scouting  parties  from 
Price's  army. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  147 

The  few  people  that  remained  were  ahiiost  destitute  of 
food,  and  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  obtain  feed  for 
horses.  The  country  had  suffered  terribly  from  the 
ravages  of  war,  and  was  destined  to  suffer  still  further 
before  the  war  ended.  As  long  as  the  war  lasted  it  was 
infested  by  roving- bands  of  guerrillas,  although  the  regular 
armies  of  the  Confederacy  had  been  forced  much  farther 
to  the  south.  At  first  the  Secessionists  encouraged  the 
presence  of  these  guerrillas,  but  after  a  time  they  found 
their  exactions  so  great  that  they  would  gladly  have  rid 
themselves  of  their  so-called  "  friends." 

The  roads  were  bad  and  the  march  was  slow,  but  in 
spite  of  the  bad  roads  and  the  wintry  weather  the  army 
pushed  forward  resolutely.  Jack  and  Harry  found  them- 
selves covered  with  mud  at  the  end  of  every  day's  march, 
and  as  they  were  frequently  sent  with  scouting  parties 
away  from  the  road,  their  horses  as  well  as  themselves 
were  pretty  well  used  up  when  night  arrived ;  but  they 
came  out  as  lively  as  ever  the  next  morning, .  and  the 
horses  seemed  to  echo  the  words  of  their  young  masters, 
that  they  were  having  a  good  time. 

On  one'of  their  scouting  expeditions  they  stopped  at  a 
house  wliose  owner  boasted  that  he  had  built  it  himself 
and  lived  in  it  for  seventeen  years,  and  though  it  wasn't 
equal  to  some  of  the  fine  houses  in  Springfield  or  Lebanon, 
it  was  as  good  as  he  wanted.  It  was  built  of  logs,  like 
the  ordinary  frontier  dwelling,  and  consisted  of  a  single 
room,  where  the  family  of  six  persons  lived,  ate  and  slept. 
It  had  a  door  but  no  window,  and  in  order  to  have  light 
in  the  daytime  it  was  necessary  to  keep  the  door  open,  no 
matter  how  cold  the  weather  might  be.  Near  the  house 
was  a  smaller  one  of  the  same  sort,  and  this  was  occupied 
by  three  negroes,  the  slaves  of  the  owner  of  the  place. 

Harry  found  on  inquii-y  that  the  man  had  bought  these 
slaves  from  the  money  he  had  saved  by  selling  the  produce 


148  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

of  his  farm,  preferring  to  invest  in  this  kind  of  property 
rather  than  build  a  more  comfortable  house,  with  glass 
windows  and  other  luxuries.  One  of  the  slaves  was  cook 
and  housemaid,  the  second  was  the  family  nurse,  and  the 
third,  a  man  about  fifty  years  old,  attended  to  the  stable 
and  out-door  work  in  general.  The  master  worked  in  the 
field  with  his  colored  property,  but  he  said  that  when  he 
had  "  two  more  niggers  "  he  would  have  all  his  time  taken 
up  looking  after  them.  Naturally  he  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  rebellion,  and  did  not  believe  in  the  Yankees 
and  Dutch  coming  along  and  setting  the  slaves  free. 

The  black  man  watched  for  a  chance  to  speak  to  one  of 
the  boys,  and  after  a  little  maneuvering  hemanaged  to  do 
so  without  being  seen  by  his  master. 

"  Ef  you  Linkum  folks  wants  to  find  some  rebs,"  said 
the  darkey  to  Harry,  with  a  grin,  "  I  knows  whar  you  '11 
find  'em." 

"Where's  that?" 

"  You  jest  go  down  dis  yere  road  about  a  mile  and  you  '11 
find  some  of  'em  with  a  wagon  load  o'  pork  dey  's  takin' 
to  Price's  army." 

"  How  many  rebs  are  there  with  the  wagon  ?  " 

"  Dere  's  six  on  'em — free  is  on  horses  and  free  in  der 
wagon.  Dey  's  been  gettin'  dat  pork  round  yar,  and 
hain't  been  gone  more  'n  half  an  hour.  I  knows  dey  's 
going  ter  stop  at  der  creek  to  fix  one  of  de  wheels,  and 
you  '11  find  'em  dar.     Don't  let  on  wher  yer  found  'em  out." 

"  Of  course  ]iot,"  was  the  reply.  "  We  '11  keep  you  all 
safe.  Now  clear  out,  and  don't  look  at  us  to  see  which 
way  we  go." 

There  were  six  of  them  in  the  scouting  party,  and  they 
were  entirely  able  to  cope  with  the  escort  of  the  wagon. 
Harry  slipped  to  the  side  of  the  sergeant  in  command  and 
said  they  'd  better  be  oft",  and  he  would  then  tell  him 
why. 


THE  LOST  AR3fY.  149 

The  sergeant  then  said  to  his  men  that  it  was  time  to 
be  getting  back,  and  gave  the  order  for  mounting.  At 
the  end  of  the  Uttle  lane  where  the  house  stood  they 
stopped  for  consultation,  Harry  telling  what  he  had  learned, 
and  suggesting,  that  in  order  to  divert  suspicion,  they  had 
best  start  the  other  way  and  then  suddenly  turn  about  as 
though  a  new  idea  had  occurred  to  them. 

The  sergeant  acted  under  Harry's  suggestion.  The 
party  went  half-a-dozen  rods  one  way  and  then  turned 
about  and  cantered  slowly  down  the  road  in  the  direction 
indicated  by  the  negro. 

"  Steady,  now,  boys,"  said  the  sergeant.  "  Don't  pump 
your  horses,  but  keep  them  fresh  for  a  dash  when  we 
want  to  make  it." 

So  they  went  gently  along,  Harry  keeping  a  little  in 
advance  to  watch  out  for  the  wagon  of  which  they  were 
in  search.  The  road  rose  and  fell  over  the  undulations  of 
the  ground,  and  when  they  had  gone  about  a  mile  it  was 
evident  that  they  were  coming  to  a  depression,  which  was 
probably  the  bed  of  the  creek. 

Harry  hugged  the  trees  at  thq  side  of  the  road,  so  as  to 
screen  himself  from  sight.  His  horse  pricked  his  ears 
and  evidently  scented  the  presence  of  other  animals  of 
his  race. 

A  few  more  steps  in  advance  and  the  wagon  was  in 
sight.  It  was  standing  close  to  the  creek,  and  the  men 
were  busy  adjusting  one  of  the  wheels,  the  three  horse- 
men having  dismounted  and  tied  their  steeds  to  some 
trees  a  dozen  yards  away. 

The  sergeant  gave  the  order  to  advance  at  a  walk,  and 
if  possible  get  between  the  men  and  their  horses  before 
the  presence  of  an  enemy  was  discovered.  As  soon  as 
they  were  seen  they  would  go  in  with  a  dash. 

They  were  not  able  to  carry  out  the  plan  completely, 
but  for  all  practical  purposes  it  succeeded.    When  the 


150  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

first  of  the  rebel  party  saw  the  advancing  Federals  they 
had  not  time  to  secure  their  horses.  The  sergeant  gave 
the  order  for  an  advance,  and  in  the  squad  dashed,  in  tine 
style. 

The  sergeant  had  told  Jack  to  get  hold  of  the  saddle- 
horses  the  first  thing,  and  he  did  so.  The  rest  of  the 
party  surrounded  the  wagon.  The  rebels  showed  fight, 
but,  taken  at  a  disadvantage  and  with  the  carbines  of  the 
cavalrymen  aimed  at  them,  they  surrendered  before  any 
blood  had  been  spilt,  but  not  without  an  exchange  of 
shots,  of  which  Harry  received  one  through  the  sleeve  of 
his  coat. 

The  prisoners  were  secured  and  marched  back  in  the 
direction  of  the  road  where  the  army  was  on  its  march. 
The  wheel  was  speedily  adjusted,  and  then  Harry 
mounted  the  box  of  the  wagon  and  soon  made  the  four 
mules  that  comprised  its  team  understand  their  duty. 
The  captured  horses  were  led  behind  the  wagon  along 
with  Harry's  horse.  Without  further  adventure  the  party 
reached  the  camp,  and  the  pork  intended  for  Price's  army 
found  its  way  down  the  throats  of  General  Vandever's 
soldiers. 


TRE  LOST  ABMY.  151 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IN  THE  CAMP  OF  THE  REBELS CAPTURED  LETTERS  AND 

THEIR  CONTENTS. 

It  was  impossible  to  prevent  news  of  the  advance  of 
tlie  Union  forces  being  carried  to  General  Price  at  Spring- 
field. That  astute  commander  knew  that  he  was  in  no 
condition  to  cope  with  an  army  of  sixteen  thousand  men, 
and  so  he  wisely  withdrew  when  certain  that  he  would 
have  to  fight  if  he  remained.  He  left  in  haste  and  did  not 
take  time  to  pack  up  all  his  correspondence,  of  which  a 
considerable  portion  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders. 

General  Curtis  had  hoped  to  surround  Price  in  Spring- 
field and  prevent  his  retreat;  he  did  surround  the  town 
on  two  of  its  four  sides,  but  left  the  other  two  wide  open, 
and  consequently  Price  was  able  to  march  serenely  and 
leisurely  down  the  road  in  the  direction  of  the  Arkansas 
line. 

General  Sigel  was  sent  along  a  parallel  road  in  the  hope 
of  heading  off  Price,  but  the  latter  got  wind  of  the  move- 
ment and  accelerated  his  own  speed  so  that  heading 
oft"  was  out  of  the  question.  Then,  too,  his  rear  was 
rather  closely  followed  by  General  Curtis's  cavalry,  so 
that  the  rear-guard  pressed  against  the  column  in  front 
of  it  and  urged  the  retreat.  General  Sigel's  ofiicers  after- 
wards complained  that  they  were  foiled  in  their  heading- 
off  attempt  by  the  vigorous  pursuit  of  the  cavalry  that 
led  the  main  column. 

Jack  and  Harry  were  with  a  scouting  party  that  visited 


152  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

the  deserted  camp  of  the  rebels  close  to  the  town  of  Spring- 
field, and  were  much  interested  in  studying  the  buildings 
which  had  been  erected  for  the  use  of  the  troops.  They 
consisted  of  log  and  board  structures,  and  were  sufficiently 
numerous  and  extensive  to  accommodate  ten  thousand 
men,  in  the  way  troops  are  lodged  in  barracks,  without 
any  overcrowding.  The  log-houses  were  well  chinked 
with  nmd  and  clay,  and  the  board  ones  were  well  built 
and  comfortable ;  both  kinds  of  buildings  had  floorings  of 
boards,  and  at  one  end  of  every  house  there  was  a  chimney 
and  a  fireplace. 

"  In  some  of  the  camps,"  said  Jack  afterwards,  in  de- 
scribing the  place  to  a  friend,  "the  buildings  seemed  to 
have  been  dropped  down  hap-hazard,  without  any  effort 
at  regularity,  while  in  other  camps  they  were  laid  out 
into  streets  and  lanes.  Some  of  the  streets  had  signs  at 
the  corners,  and  of  course  the  names  were  sure  to  be  those 
of  the  Confederate  generals.  The  bunks  were  arranged 
in  tiers,  sometimes  four  or  five  in  a  tier ;  some  of  the 
roofs  of  the  buildings  were  covered  with  rawhide,  and  we 
saw  several  chairs  and  sofas  seated  with  the  same  material. 

"  We  thought  by  the  looks  of  the  place  that  they  must 
have  left  in  a  hurry.  There  was  a  dead  pig  lying  on  the 
ground  with  the  knife  still  sticking  in  his  throat,  and 
close  by  was  a  sheep  hanging  on  a  peg  in  the  side  of  a 
house,  with  its  skin  about  half  taken  off.  Dough  was 
fresh  in  the  pans,  and  there  were  cooking  utensils  in  con- 
siderable number,  many  of  them  containing  food  wholly 
or  partially  cooked.  They  took  away  their  blankets, 
hardly  one  having  been  left  behind.  The  sick  men  who 
remained  in  camp  said  that  there  was  a  very  short  supply 
of  blankets,  and  they  were  sure  the  army  would  suffer 
greatly  for  want  of  proper  clothing  and  covering. 

"  I  'm  certain  they  left  in  a  great  hurry,"  continued  Jack, 
"  or  I  would  n't  have  this." 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  153 

As  he  spoke  he  drew  from  his  pocket  a  gold  watch, 
which  he  had  found  in  a  bunk  in  one  of  the  houses, 
evidently  a  house  where  the  officers  of  a  regiment  were 
lodged.  It  was  a  pleasing  souvenir  of  the  visit  to  the 
camp,  and  Jack  said  he  hoped  to  carry  it  home  to  show 
to  his  friends  in  Iowa. 

"And  what  did  you  find,  Harry?"  said  one  of  the 
listeners,  turning  to  the  other  of  our  young  friends. 

"  There  were  no  gold  watches,  or  even  a  silver  one,  in 
any  bunk  that  I  examined ;  but  I  found  this,  which  was 
quite  likely  a  treasured  possession  of  its  former  owner  as 
much  as  was  the  watch  to  the  man  who  left  it  behind  for 
Jack  to  pick  up.  But  it  would  n't  sell  for  as  much  ;  in 
fact,  I  don't  think  it  would  bring  any  price  at  all  in  the 
market,  as  it 's  only  a  bundle  of  love-letters." 

Then  he  read  some  of  the  letters  aloud,  to  the  great 
amusement  of  the  entire  party.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of 
record  that  anybody's  love-letters  are  amusing,  and  gener- 
ally silly,  to  all  except  the  one  person  for  whom  they  are 
intended  and  the  other  person  who  writes  them. 

The  love  element  was  not  stronger  than  the  devotion  of 
the  fair  writers  to  the  cause  of  the  South.  One  of  them 
urged  her  lover  to  stay  with  the  army  and  fight  till  the 
last  slave-stealing  Yankee  was  put  out  of  existence  and  the 
triumph  of  the  Confederacy  was  assured,  "And  you 
won't  have  long  to  stay,"  she  added,  "as  we  hear  the 
northern  people  are  starving,  and  all  of  them  are  fast  get- 
ting sick  of  the  war.  They  won't  be  able  to  hire  any  more 
Dutchmen  to  fight  for  them,  and  when  they  can't  hire 
Dutchmen  the  war  will  stop  and  the  South  will  be  inde- 
pendent. 

"  I  know  I  can  trust  you  when  you  get  among  the 
northern  women,"  she  says  in  conclusion ;  "  and  am  sure 
you  won't  forget  me  and  fall  in  love  with  one  of  those  ill- 
looking,  wheezing,  whining,  ignorant  creatures.    That 's 


154  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

what  Johnny  Scott  says  all  the  Yankee  women  are  like, 
and  he  's  been  North  three  or  four  times,  you  know." 

"Poor,  dear,  confiding  girl,"  said  Harry.  "I  'm  afraid 
Johnny  Scott  wanted  to  make  her  mind  easy  about  her 
far-off  sweetheart,  and  so  invented  this  charming  fiction 
about  the  northern  lasses.  How  her  eyes  would  be  opened 
if  she  could  take  a  run  through  the  cities  and  country 
towns  all  the  way  from  the  state  of  Maine  to  the  Missouri 
river  and  see  the  thousands  and  thousands  of  pretty  faces 
that  could  be  seen  there." 

To  judge  by  the  passages  of  the  letters  giving  the  news 
and  rumors  concerning  the  progress  of  the  war,  it  was 
evident  that  the  most  astounding  stories  of  the  prowess 
of  the  southern  soldiers  and  the  cowardice  of  the  northern 
ones  were  in  active  circulation.  The  latter  had  been  de- 
feated over  and  over  again,  and  generally  ran  at  the  first 
fire  ;  sometimes  they  even  ran  before  a  shot  was  fired,  and 
gave  the  enemy  the  victoi-y  without  spilling  a  drop  of 
blood. 

There  was  an  amusing  juxtaposition  of  paragraphs,  one 
of  which  said  the  Yankees  were  being  driven  back  every- 
where as  fast  as  they  could  be  met,  and  the  other  saying 
they  were  pushing  down  into  the  South  all  the  time 
"  further  and  further."  Evidently  the  writer  of  the  letter 
was  puzzled  at  this,  for  she  says  : 

"  I  asked  Colonel  Jones  that  if  we  were  whipping  the 
Yanks  all  the  time,  how  it  was  they  kept  coming  further 
down  South  as  fast  as  we  whipped  them.  He  said  a 
woman  could  n't  understand  war  ;  he  could  excuse  my  ask- 
ing such  a  question,  but  if  it  had  been  a  man  that  asked 
it  he  would  have  arrested  him  for  a  Yankee  spy.  Of 
course  I  am  aware,  Charles,  that  I  don't  know  anything 
about  war,  and  I  wish  you  'd  write  me  something,  so  that 
I  can  talk  understandingly.  I  think  I  can  guess  it ;  the 
southern  generals  want  to  entice  the  Yanks  down  into 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  155 

the  South,  and  when  they  get  ready  to  kill  the  whole  lot, 
none  of  them  can  get  away." 

This  was  the  explanation  given  on  several  occasions  by 
the  rebel  leaders  in  reply  to  inquiries  as  to  the  reasons 
for  certain  retirements  of  the  rebel  troops.  A  letter  from 
Colonel  Thomas  IT.  Price,  of  General  Price's  staff,  was 
among  the  correspondence  captured  at  Springfield.  It 
had  been  left  behind  by  the  general  in  his  hasty  departure. 
This  letter  was  dated  at  Memphis,  January  sixth,  and  con- 
tained, among  other  information,  the  following : 

*  *  *  I  shall  start  in  the  morning  for  Richmond.  I  have  not  the 
leastwish  or  curiosity  to  go,  but  Major  Anderson  and  Colonel  Hunt, 
of  the  Quartermaster  and  Ordnance  Departments,  advise  to  go 
immediately  there.  I  tell  everybody  who  mentions  your  retreat 
that  you  only  moved  your  camp  to  be  more  convenient  to  forage, 
etc. 

There  were  many  other  letters  which  the  rebel  general 
left  behind  in  his  flight  that  were  of  special  interest  to  the 
union  commanders,  as  they  revealed  the  methods  of  re- 
cruiting and  gathering  provisions  in  the  Confederate 
states.  There  was  a  complaint  that  the  governor  of  Ar- 
kansas had  placed  an  embargo  on  the  shipment  of  pork, 
corn  and  other  produce  to  New  Orleans,  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  all  be  needed  for  feeding  the  Arkansas  troops 
in  the  field.  One  man  said  he  had  bought  twelve  thousand 
pounds  of  pork  to  ship  to  New  Orleans,  and  on  which  he 
expected  a  handsome  profit,  but  owing  to  the  action  of  the 
governor  he  was  unable  to  sell  a  pound  of  it. 

This  was  agreeable  news  to  the  union  commanders,  as 
it  went  far  to  insure  a  good  supply  of  provisions  in  any 
movements  the  Army  of  the  Southwest  might  make  in 
Arkansas.  Various  letters  gave  the  strength  of  the  rebel 
forces  at  difterent  points,  and  altogether  a  good  deal  of 
information  was  obtained  from  the  captured  correspond- 
ence. 


156  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

The  rebels  had  established  a  foundry  and  armory  at 
Springfield.  In  the  former  they  were  casting  shot  and 
shell  for  the  use  of  the  artillerymen,  and  far  the  latter 
small  arms  were  being  repaired  and  cartridges  made  for 
the  infantry,  while  swords  were  fashioned  and  put  in 
serviceable  condition  for  the  cavalry. 

Several  buildings  were  filled  with  provisions,  one  large 
one  being  quite  untouched.  The  reason  why  the  torch 
was  not  applied  to  these  storehouses  and  their  contents 
will  be  seen  later  on. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  157 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A    RAPID    PURSUIT "THE    ARKANSAS     TRAVELER" GAME 

CHICKENS    AND    COCKING   MAINS. 

The  union  army  followed  closely  after  the  rebel  one, 
and  for  more  than  a  hundred  miles  the  chase  was  con- 
tinued. Sometimes  the  advance  of  the  pursuers  was  not 
more  than  a  mile  or  two  from  the  rear  of  the  pursued.  A 
retreating  army  always  has  the  advantage,  as  it  has  a 
clear  road,  while  the  advancing  one  must  carefully  recon- 
noiter  the  ground  to  prevent  falling  into  ambuscades. 
Then,  too,  the  retreating  force  can  forage  upon  the 
country,  where  there  is  anything  to  be  obtained  in  it,  and 
by  clearing  it  of  provisions  and  supplies  of  every  kind 
make  it  a  difficult  matter  for  the  pursuers  to  feed  them- 
selves, unless  by  waiting  for  the  wagon-trains,  which  are 
always  an  encumbrance  and  hinder  rapid  movements. 

General  Price  did  not  stop  to  form  ambuscades  or  other- 
wise engage  the  advance  of  General  Curtis,  but  kept 
straight  on  toward  the  southwest  till  he  formed  a  junction 
with  McCuUoch  at  Cross  Hollows  in  northern  Arkansas. 
Cross  Hollows  is  a  curious  sort  of  a  place,  and  is  Avell 
described  by  its  name.  The  rolling  and  hilly  country  is 
suddenly  broken  by  a  series  of  ravines  that  spread  out 
from  a  common  center  like  the  rays  of  a  star.  Ravines 
in  this  part  of  the  country  are  generally  known  by  the 
more  prosaic  name  of  "  Hollows,"  and  the  crossing  of  the 
hollows  gives  the  name  to  the  locality. 

The  main  road  from  Sprhigfield  to  Fayetteville  and  the 


158  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

southwest  traverses  the  center  of  the  hollows.  A  short 
distance  before  reaching  the  hollows  it  crosses  a  fine 
stream  of  water,  wliich  bears  the  name  of  Sugar  Creek. 
The  water  of  Sugar  Creek  is  pure,  like  that  of  a  mountain 
brook.  In  its  shallow  parts  it  is  without  color,  but  wher- 
ever it  attains  a  depth  of  thirty  inches  or  more  it  is  deeply 
tinged  with  blue.  This  is  the  character  of  the  streams 
generally  through  that  section  of  country,  and  when  one 
looks  down  from  a  height  upon  the  valley  of  one  of  these 
streams  the  effect  of  the  pools  of  blue  alternating  with 
the  white  water  of  the  shallow  portions  and  the  green 
of  the  enclosing  banks  forms  a  very  pretty  picture. 

Down  to  that  time  none  of  the  union  forces  in  south- 
west Missouri  had  ever  crossed  the  line  into  Arlcansas. 
General  Vandever's  brigade  was  leading  the  advance  of 
the  infantry  column,  a  half  mile  or  so  behind  the  cavalry, 
and  Jack  and  Harry  were  as  far  in  front  as  they  were 
permitted  to  go.  When  the  head  of  the  column  reached 
the  line  a  halt  was  ordered,  the  regiments  were  closed  up, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  commemorating  the  inva- 
sion of  the  seceded  state-  in  an  imposing  manner. 

For  some  days  the  bands  had  been  practicing  the  music 
of  "  The  Arkansas  Traveler,"  one  of  the  far-seeing  officers 
of  the  staff  having  supplied  the  leaders  with  the  score. 
After  the  column  had  been  halted  two  of  the  bands  were 
brought  forward  and  stationed  on  each  side  of  the  road, 
where  a  post  marked  the  boundary  between  Missouri  and 
Arkansas.  When  all  was  ready  the  bands  started  up 
"  The  Arkansas  Traveler,"  and  with  their  rifles  at  right- 
shoulder  shift,  and  in  column  of  fours  the  infantry  filed 
past.  As  each  company  crossed  the  frontier  a  loud  cheer 
was  given,  and  the  greatest  enthusiasm  prevailed.  To  add 
to  the  good  spirits  of  the  men  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Fort 
Donelson  reached  them  and  spread  like  wildfire  on  their 
first  night  in  camp  on  the  soil  of  Arkansas. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  159 

Price  and  McCullocli  united  their  forces  at  Cross  Hol- 
lows and  made  a  stand  against  tlie  union  advance,  though 
evidently  not  a  serious  one,  as  there  was  only  a  slight 
skirmish,  after  which  the  rebels  retired  in  the  direction  of 
Fayetteville  twenty-two  miles  further  on.  The  cavalry 
division  pursued  them  to  that  point,  but  the  infantry 
halted  at  Cross  Hollows.  Even  at  Fayetteville  the  rebels 
did  not  feel  strong  enough  to  make  a  fight,  but  continued 
their  retreat  after  a  short  resistance  over  the  Boston 
Mountains  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Smith,  where  for  a 
long  time  the  United  States  government  had  formerly 
maintained  a  military  post. 

The  rebels  had  accumulated  at  Fayetteville  a  consider- 
able supply  of  bacon,  corn  and  other  materials  for  feeding 
their  army,  and  when  our  troops  arrived  most  of  the  store- 
houses containing  these  supplies  were  on  fire.  It  was 
afterward  ascertained  that  the  burning  of  these  store- 
houses had  been  the  cause  of  a  serious  dispute  between 
Price  and  McCulloch — a  renewal  of  their  quarrel  at  the 
time  of  the  Wilson's  Creek  campaign. 

Price  wanted  to  leave  these  supplies  for  the  use  of  the 
union  army,  and  he  argued  as  follows :  We  've  got  to 
retrea.t,  and  the  union  army  is  going  to  stay  here  till  we 
drive  them  out.  They  are  in  our  country,  and  more  than 
two  hundred  miles  from  their  base.  They  will  forage  on 
the  country  for  a  large  part  of  their  supplies,  and  if  we 
leave  this  bacon  and  corn  they  will  have  just  so  much  less 
to  take  from  the  people,  who  are  our  people,  and  not 
theirs.  Arkansas  is  a  seceded  state,  and  the  Yankees 
and  Dutch  won't  have  any  compunctions  about  living  on 
the  state  that  they  might  have  in  Missouri,  which  they 
claim  to  be  still  in  the  union,  and  are  trying  to  keep  there. 
The  easier  it  is  for  them  to  find  their  living  the  easier  it 
will  be  for  Arkansas. 

On  this  line  of  argument  Price  opposed  the  destruction 


160  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

of  the  supplies.  McCullocli  opposed  his  view  of  the 
matter,  and  said  it  was  no  part  of  their  business  to  help 
feed  the  Yankee  army,  and  what  happened  to  the  people 
was  simply  the  fortune  of  war.  The  quarrel  reached  its 
height  and  came  near  a  fighting  point  when  McCulloch 
accused  Price  of  disloyalty  to  the  South  and  a  willingness 
to  see  Arkansas  subjugated  by  the  Northern  troops. 

Price  was  overruled  and  the  stores  were  set  on  fire. 
His  prediction  was  verified,  as  the  union  forces  foraged 
right  and  left  among  the  people,  and  certainly  caused  them 
much  more  hardship  than  would  have  been  the  case  had 
tlie  supplies  fallen  into  our  hands.  Which  of  them  was 
right  in  the  argument  the  reader  may  decide  for  himself. 
Certainly  the  question,  like  most  matters  on  which  men 
differ,  had  two  well-defined  sides. 

McCulloch's  army  had  spent  the  winter  at  Cross  Hol- 
lows, where  it  erected  buildings  capable  of  lodging  eight 
or  ten  thousand  men.  When  the  rebels  retired  from 
Cross  Hollows  these  buildings  were  set  on  fire,  and  by  the 
time  our  troops  arrived  all  but  half  a  dozen  of  them  had 
been  consumed.  The  ashes  remained  to  mark  the  spot, 
and  the  positions  of  the  smoking  ash-heaps  showed  that 
the  cantonment  was  laid  out  with  the  regularity  of  a  care- 
fully-platted town. 

The  Third  Blinois  Cavalry,  which  was  attached  to 
General  Vandever's  brigade,  followed  closely  upon  the 
heels  of  the  enemy  after  the  skirmish  at  Sugar  Creek,  and 
pushed  on  in  the  direction  of  Fayetteville.  A  single  com- 
pany was  retained  by  the  general  for  scouting  purposes, 
and  to  this  company  Jack  and  Harry  were  temporarily 
attached.  The  youths  were  among  the  first  to  enter  the 
rebel  cantonment  and  try  to  save  what  they  could  from 
the  flames. 

Harry's  sharp  eyes  fell  upon  some  chickens,  of  which  a 
hundred  or  more  were  running  wildly  about  the  place. 


Death  of  General  Lyon. 


Page  84. 


THE  LOST  ARMT.  161 

The  slaughter  of  the  innocents  began  at  once ;  chickens 
were  not  abundant  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and.  Harry 
thought  a  fine  fowl  would  be  very  welcome  at  the  general's 
mess-table  that  evening,  and  he  was  also  of  the  opinion 
that  a  similar  bird  would  taste  well  for  himself  and 
Jack. 

He  secured  two,  and  remarked  to  Jack  that  they  were 
the  thinnest  birds  of  the  kind  he  had  yet  come  across, 
"  But  they  're  chickens,  anyhow,"  said  he,  "  and  if  they  're 
too  tough  for  broiling  they  will  do  well  in  a  stew," 

Jack  w^as  equally  fortunate  in  his  chicken  hunt,  but  his 
second  bird  was  a  surprise  that  caused  his  eyes  to  open 
very  wide. 

"  Just  look  at  this,"  said  he  to  Harry,  as  he  pointed  to 
the  legs  of  the  fowl ;  "  wonder  what  this  means  ?  " 

The  objects  that  arrested  his  attention  were  a  pair  of 
steel  "  gaffs  "  as  sharp  as  needles,  and  attached  by  straps 
and  cords  to  the  legs  of  the  chicken  ;  they  were  hollow  at 
the  base,  so  that  they  passed  over  the  natural  spurs  of  the 
bird. 

"  I  never  saw  anything  like  this,"  said  Jack,  "  and  don't 
believe  it  grows  there." 

"  Nor  I  either,"  replied  Harry.  "  Here  comes  the 
general ;  let 's  show  it  to  him  and  find  out  what  it 's  all 
about." 

Jack  ran  to  General  Vandever  and  exhibited  his  dis- 
covery. The  latter  immediately  ordered  the  slaughter  of 
the  chickens  to  cease,  and  it  was  stopped  at  once,  but  not 
till  two-thirds  of  the  number  about  the  camp  had 
fallen. 

"  These  are  game  cocks,"  said  the  general,  "  and  they  're 
kept  for  fighting  purposes.  I  heard  that  the  Third 
Louisiana  had  a  lot  of  game  cocks,  and  were  keeping 
them  here  for  amusing  themselves.  They  come  from  a 
chicken-fighting  region,  and  this  is  one  of  their  favorite 
11 


162  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

sports.  They  get  up  matches,  on  which  they  bet  heavily, 
and  then  the  fighting-cocks  are  equipped  with  these  spurs 
or  gaffs,  and  put  in  the  ring  against  eacli  other.  Tlie  bird 
that  can  first  pierce  the  otlier  witli  tliese  gaffs  generally 
wins  the  fight,  as  a  well-directed  blow  with  them  is 
fatal. 

"  Probably  we  interrupted  a  fight,"  the  general  con- 
tinued. "  This  bird  was  certainly  all  ready  for  the  ring, 
and  if  you  look  around  you  '11  find  another  similarly 
equipped  and  about  to  proceed  to  business." 

Sure  enough,  the  antagonist  of  the  bird  was  found  in 
the  hands  of  a  soldier ;  at  any  rate,  there  was  another 
chicken  with  the  gaffs  on  that  had  been  killed  before  his 
character  was  known.  Game  chickens  are  not  considered 
edible  except  in  case  of  emergency.  Those  that  had  been 
killed  were,  however,  duly  served  up,  as  it  was  thought 
extravagant  to  waste  anything  in  the  chicken  line  at  that 
particular  time.  It  was  as  Harry  had  predicted,  the 
chickens  were  not  good  for  broiling,  but  they  did  fairly 
well  when  stewed,  especially  when  the  stewing  continued 
all  night. 

The  birds  that  were  saved  from  slaughter  were  the 
source  of  much  amusement  to  the  officers  while  the  army 
remained  in  camp  at  Cross  Hollows.  Almost  every  day 
there  was  a  cock-fight  in  front  of  one  of  the  tents,  but  it 
was  generally  bloodless,  as  nobody  knew  anything  about 
handling  the  birds,  and  the  steel  gaffs  were  never  used. 
The  names  of  the  rebel  leaders  were  given  to  the  fighters, 
and  it  was  a  common  occurrence  to  have  Beauregard 
pitted  against  Jeff  Davis,  Price  against  McCulloch,  or  Lee 
against  Johnston.  General  Vandever  turned  two  of  the 
birds  over  to  the  care  of  Jack  and  Harry.  Harry's  pet 
was  called  Magruder,  and  Jack's  received  the  fighting  name 
of  Breckinridge. 

In  the  first  encounter  Breckinridge  tore  three  feathers 


THE  LOST  AEMT.  163 

out  of  Magriider's  neck  and  otherwise  disabled  him,  so 
that  Harry  lost  his  wager.  But  as  betting  in  money  was 
not  in  order,  and  the  stakes  consisted  only  of  army  crackers, 
the  youths'  losses  were  not  heavy. 

One  after  another  the  fighting-chickens  went  to  the 
cooking-pots,  as  they  were  not  securely  guarded  and 
several  of  the  ofiicers  had  negro  servants.  There  is  a 
traditional  affinity  between  the  negro  and  the  chicken,  an 
afiinity  which  results  in  the  absorbing  of  the  latter  by  the 
former.  Some  of  the  negro  servants  were  good  foragers, 
and  ran  considerable  risk  iu  their  search  for  supplies,  as 
we  shall  see  later  on. 


164  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

A       IIAI'ID       RETREAT AN    EXPEDITION    AND    A   FORCED 

MARCH. 

For  two  weeks  after  the  army  reached  Cross  Hollows  it 
remained  apparently  inactive,  though  really  far  from  idle. 
Foraging  expeditions  were  constantly  in  motion,  scouting 
parties  were  sent  out  in  every  direction,  and  small  forces 
of  infantry  and  cavalry  went  to  visit  the  various  villages 
and  towns  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  to  the  east 
and  west.  Several  times  detachments  of  cavalry  visited 
Fayetteville,  and  made  sure  that  the  rebels  had  not  re- 
occupied  the  place. 

As  already  intimated  the  negro  servants  of  the  officers 
were  active  in  search  of  chickens  and  other  articles  of 
food.  General  Vandever  and  Colonel  Herron  had  as  man- 
ager of  their  mess  a  negro  named  William,  generally  ab- 
breviated to  Bill,  who  could  scent  a  chicken  at  least  a 
mile  away,  and  a  concealed  ham  even  though  a  load  of  hay 
had  been  piled  on  top  of  it.  In  the  same  brigade  was  the 
Twenty-fifth  Missouri,  commanded  by  Colonel  John  S. 
Phelps.  The  latter  officer  rejoiced  in  a  negro  named  Jake, 
and  he  and  Bill  went  together  almost  daily  in  a  hunt  for 
provisions.  Not  infrequently  they  ventured  beyond 
the  lines,  and  on  two  or  three  occasions  had  narrow 
escapes  from  capture. 

One  evening  Bill  gave  the  following  account  of  the  day's 
performance : 

"  Me  and  Jake  went  out  for  to  find  suthin',  and  I  says 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  165 

to  Jake  that  chickens  was  gettin'  mighty  sca'ce  round 
yere.  We  went  out  on  a  side  road  off  from  de  Fayette- 
ville  road,  and  while  we  was  at  a  house  dere  and  trying 
to  find  out  if  dere  was  any  chickens  in  de  cliicken-house, 
and  if  de  man  wliat  owned  de  place  was  to  home  or  not, 
we  heern  a  noise. 

"  I  looks  out  o'  de  chicken-house,  and  down  de  road 
I  sees  some  dust,  and  in  dat  dust  I  sees  two  or  free  dozen 
rebs.  I  jest  says  '  Rebs  '  to  Jake,  and  him  and  me  lit  out 
o'  dat  dere  chicken-house  and  over  behind  der  barn  and 
den  we  got  out  inter  de  road. 

"  De  rebs  dey  comes  up  and  stops  at  der  house,  and  den 
me  and  Jake  lit  out  for  camp.  And  yer  jest  ort  to  a-seen 
Jake  run ;  dere  nebber  was  a  nigger  run  like  Jake 
did  ;  he  jest  streaked  it  along  ez  if  a  tiger  was  arter 
him,  and  mighty  near  cotchin'  him,  too." 

Here  Bill  doubled  himself  up  with  laughing  at  the  pict- 
ure presented  by  the  swift-footed  Jake.  After  laughing 
awhile  he  paused,  and  repeated  his  belief  that  Jake  was, 
"  de  runnin'est  nigger  dat  eber  was  know'd." 

"  Well,  what  did  you  do.  Bill  ?  "  said  the  general,  when 
the  negro  stopped  laughing  long  enough  to  permit  the 
question  to  be  edged  in. 

»  Wot  did  I  do  ?  Wot  do  yer  s'pose  I  did,  Gineral  ?  I 
jest  retreated,  fell  back,  alongside  o'  Jake,  and  got  inter 
camp  'bout  five  minutes  ahead  of  him." 

"  And  that 's  the  way  of  Avar,"  the  general  remarked  to 
the  rest  of  the  party.  "We  retreat  or  fall  back,  but 
others  run." 

Jack  and  Harry  had  a  retreat  of  this  sort  one  day  when 
out  in  search  of  a  quantity  of  bacon  that  was  said  to  be 
concealed  in  a  barn  several  miles  away.  They  did  n't  get 
the  bacon,  but  they  did  get  a  brush  with  a  sindlar  but 
larger  party  of  the  enemy,  probably  on  the  same 
baconian  intent.     Being  in  the  minority,  the  union  squad- 


166  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

ron  retired  in  good  though  somewhat  rapid  order,  which 
was  doubtless  described  afterward  by  tlie  rebels  who  wit- 
nessed it  as  a  dead  run.  Harry  admitted  as  much  to  a 
friend,  but  insisted  that  it  was  a  retreat,  and  not  a  run 
for  safety. 

Rumors  reached  the  ai'my  that  the  rebels  had  formed  a 
camp  about  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Fayetteville,  and 
were  receiving  reinforcements.  The  position  at  Cross 
Hollows  Avas  a  strong  one,  and  in  view  of  the  reports  from 
the  front  General  Curtis  did  not  care  to  advance,  and  thus 
abandon  his  very  desirable  camp.  With  an  abundant 
supply  of  water,  and  with  the  natural  advantages  of  the 
ridges  that  bounded  the  hollows,  and  on  which  his  artil- 
lery was  planted,  he  thought  it  best  to  wait  there  for  the 
advance  of  the  enemy  rather  than  advance  to  Fayetteville. 

The  front  of  the  army  was  extended  so  that  it  covered 
a  distance  of  about  five  miles,  the  camps  being  pushed  out 
to  the  south  of  Cross  Hollows  and  the  wings  extended 
both  ways  from  the  line  of  the  main  road.  General 
Sigel's  division  was  moved  to  Bentonville,  several  miles 
to  the  west  of  Cross  Hollows,  in  order  to  increase  the 
opportunities  of  foraging  for  supplies  and  also  to  guard 
the  roads  in  that  direction.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
advance  of  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  would  be  along 
the  main  road,  and  only  a  small  force  would  be  sufficient 
to  hold  the  roads  on  the  flanks.  The  rear  of  the  union 
army  was  at  Sugar  Creek,  and  the  quartermaster's  train, 
heavily  laden  with  supplies,  was  along  this  creek  and  at 
Elkhorn  Tavern,  a  country  hotel,  which  derived  its  name 
from  a  pair  of  antlers  or  elkhorns  over  the  front 
entrance. 

On  the  second  and  third  of  March  several  expeditions 
were  sent  out  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  supplies  and 
also  of  breaking  up  small  camps  where  the  rebels  were 
said  to  be  recruiting.     One  of  these  expeditions  went  in 


THE  LOST  AB3IY.  167 

the  direction  of  Pineville,  Missouri,  and  arrived  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  object  of  its  search,  when  it  received 
orders  to  return.  It  got  hack  to  camp  without  meeting 
the  enemy,  but  it  was  afterward  ascertained  that  it  crossed 
the  intersection  of  two  roads  only  half  an  hour  before 
a  rebel  division  reached  that  spot  in  sufficient  force  to 
have  completely  overwhelmed  the  little  detachment. 

Another  detachment  which  went  to  Maysville,  near  the 
western  boundary  of  Arkansas,  was  completely  cut  off 
and  compelled  to  march  northward  to  avoid  capture,  A 
third  expedition  went  to  Huntsville,  in  Madison  county, 
to  break  up  a  rebel  camp ;  but  it  failed  of  its  mission,  as 
the  rebels  had  left  two  days  before  it  arrived  there. 

Harry  and  Jack  accompanied  this  expedition,  and  there- 
fore we  have  a  special  interest  in  knowing  how  it  turned 
out.     We  will  let  Harry  tell  the  story  of  their  adventures. 

"  We  were  not  a  large  party,"  wrote  Harry  afterward ; 
"only  a  thousand  men  in  all.  There  was  a  part  of  the 
Ninth  Iowa  and  the  Twenty-fifth  Hilissouri,  two  companies 
of  cavalry  and  two  pieces  of  light  artillery  from  the  Du- 
buque battery.  General  Yandever  commanded  the  ex- 
pedition, and  we  expected  to  be  away  four  or  five  days. 

"  We  were  two  days  getting  to  Huntsville,  where  we 
found  the  rebels  that  we  were  after  had  gone.  Huntsville 
is  an  Arkansas  county-seat  of  two  or  three  hundred  in- 
habitants, and  hardly  an  able-bodied  man  could  be  found 
in  the  whole  place ;  all  were  away  fighting  in  the  rebel 
ranks.  The  principal  store  in  the  place  was  a  whisky- 
shop,  and  the  proprietor  claimed  to  be  a  union  man.  One 
of  the  officers,  a  captain,  bought  a  canteen  of  whisky  of 
him,  and  offered  a  United  States  treasury  note  in  pay- 
ment. 

"  The  man  took  the  note  and  looked  at  it  carefully. 
Then  he  returned  it,  saying  he  must  have  either  gold  or 
Confederate  paper  money. 


168  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"  '  Isn't  this  good  enough  ? '  the  captain  asked. 

"  '  Good  enough  as  long  as  you-'uns  are  here,'  said  the 
man ;  '  but  wlien  you  turn  your  backs  the  otlier  fellows 
would  hang  me  if  I  had  that  kind  of  money.' 

"  Nobody  had  any  Confederate  paper,  and  the  captain 
didn't  know  what  to  do.  He  wanted  the  man's  whisky, 
as  the  weather  was  cold,  but  he  knew  the  fellow  was  right 
about  getting  into  trouble  for  having  our  money. 

"  Another  of  the  officers  had  been  in  the  first  expedition 
to  Fayetteville,  and  happened  to  have  in  his  pocket  a 
whole  sheet  of  private  '  shinplasters,'  or  promises  to  pay, 
that  he  picked  up  in  a  printing-office  in  that  town.  He 
took  the  sheet  from  his  pocket  and  asked  if  that  was  the 
kind  of  money  the  man  wanted. 

" '  Just  the  thing,'  said  the  whisky-dealer.  '  Give  me 
one  of  them  slips  and  you  can  have  a  canteen  of  whisky 
for  it.' 

"  The  slip  was  cut  from  the  sheet  and  handed  over. 
The  man's  attention  ^vas  called  to  the  fact  that  it  had  not 
been  signed,  but  he  declared  it  was  just  as  good,  and  no- 
body would  know  the  difference. 

"  Another  and  another  and  another  were  cut  off,  and 
finally  the  whole  sheet  had  been  disposed  of  for  canteens 
of  bad  whisky.  Then  somebody  fished  out  another  sheet 
of  the  same  sort  of  stuft",  and  the  whisky-dealer  did  a 
lively  stroke  of  business  as  long  as  the  paper  lasted.  Prob- 
ably he  worked  it  off  on  his  neighbors  and  suffered  no 
loss  owing  to  the  notes  having  been  without  signa- 
ture. 

"  Well,  we  did  n't  make  many  prisoners  at  Huntsville, 
but  the  few  we  did  make  set  us  thinking  pretty  lively. 

"  We  picked  up  four  or  five  men  of  no  particular  con- 
sequence, and  they  were  examined  apart  from  each  other 
to  make  sure  that  they  had  not  patched  up  lies  to  tell  us. 
Next  we  picked  up  two  men  who  had  left  the  rebel  army 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  169 

only  twenty-four  hours  before,  for  the  reason  that  they 
had  no  weapons  and  were  simply  useless  mouths  to  feed. 
"They  gave  us  the  startlmg intelligence  that  the  rebels 
were  already  advancing  to  attack  our  army.  They  had 
left  the  camp  about  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Fayette- 
ville,  but  not  until  they  actually  saw  the  troops  marching 
out  on  the  road  to  the  north.  They  said  there  were 
thirty  thousand  of  the  rebels,  and  they  were  commanded 
by  General  Van  Dorn. 

"  General  Vandever  immediately  sent  off  a  courier  with 
this  information  to  General  Curtis,  and  very  soon  after- 
ward he  gave  the  order  to  return  to  camp.  We  went 
about  six  miles  and  then  camped,  but  before  we  had  been 
in  camp  an  hour  we  had  a  courier  from  General  Curtis 
with  the  same  information  and  ordering  our  immediate 
return. 

"General  Vandever,"  continued  Harry,  "gave  orders 
for  us  to  start  out  of  camp  at  two  o'clock  and  make  a 
forced  march  to  rejoin  the  main  column.  Do  you  know 
what  a  forced  march  is  ? 

"  Well,  it 's  something  pretty  tough  when  you  have  to 
make  it,  as  it  means  a  march  without  any  rest  until  it  is 
ended.  We  had  forty-one  miles  to  go  that  day,  and  it 
took  us  from  two  in  the  morning  until  ten  at  night,  but 
we  did  it.  It  was  n't  so  bad  for  the  cavalry  and  artillery, 
as  they  had  their  horses,  but  it  was  terrible  for  the  in- 
fantry. The  word  passed  along  the  lines  that  the  enemy 
was  on  the  road  to  attack  us.  General  Vandever  had 
great  fears  that  the  rebels  knew  of  our  expedition  and 
would  try  to  cut  us  off  at  the  crosshig  of  the  White  river, 
and  so  he  hurried  on  till  he  got  the  stream  behind  us. 
There  was  about  three  feet  of  water  at  the  ford,  and  to 
save  the  infantrymen  from  getting  their  feet  wet,  and 
consequently  sore,  he  crossed  tliem  over  with  the  cavalry. 
An  infantry  soldier  jumped  up  behind  a  cavalryman  and 


170  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

was  soon  on  the  other  side.  Others  climbea  on  the 
caissons  of  the  artillery,  and  so  by  two  trips  of  thecavahy 
tlie  whole  force  was  crossed  over  with  dry  feet. 

"  We  only  halted  for  about  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time, 
and  three  times  in  all  during  that  long  day's  march. 
The  infantrymen  were  completely  tired  out  when  they 
got  into  camp,  but  they  were  ready  for  the  battle  the 
next  day,  and  they  did  good  work,  too,  you  may  be  sure. 

"  While  we  were  on  the  march  we  met  couriers  that 
had  been  sent  out  hy  General  Curtis  to  tell  us  that  fight- 
ing had  already  begun  away  on  the  right  of  our  line  where 
General  Sigel  was.  They  also  told  us  that  we  should  find 
the  center  or  main  position  at  Sugar  Creek,  where  the 
shape  of  the  ground  was  such  as  to  give  us  a  better  de- 
fensive position  than  the  one  at  Cross  Hollows.  General 
Curtis  had  decided  to  concentrate  his  forces  there  as  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  rebel  advance,  and  the  movements  of 
the  various  parts  of  the  army  had  such  a  concentration  in 
view." 

Not  the  least  weary  of  these  who  took  part  in  General 
Vandever  's  expedition  on  its  return  to  camp  Avere  Harry 
and  Jack.  The  noble-hearted  youths  had  done  all  they 
could  to  help  along  their  comrades,  and  for  nearly  hiilf 
the  way  they  had  loaned  their  horses  to  footsore  infan- 
trymen who  were  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  column. 
Harry  declared  that  a  little  exercise  would  do  him  good. 
Jack  shared  his  kindly  feeling,  and  walked  briskly  along 
as  though  it  was  the  greatest  fun  in  the  world.  General 
Vandever  said  they  were  a  pair  of  Mark  Tapleys,  who 
could  be  jolly  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances. 

When  they  were  yet  four  or  five  miles  from  camp  the 
general  sent  Harry  to  give  notice  of  the  coming  of  the 
expedition  and  order  a  supper  prepared  for  the  weary 
men.  Harry  took  his  horse  from  tlie  man  who  had  been 
riding  it,  and  darted  away  as  fast  as  he  could  go.    The 


THE  LOST  AEMY.  171 

men  in  camp  set  to  work  with  a  will,  and  when  the  ex- 
pedition arrived  a  supper  as  good  as  the  army  rations 
could  supply  was  ready  and  waiting.  Harry  satisfied 
his  own  hunger  and  secured  a  good  meal  for  Jack,  who 
was  not  long  in  swallowing  it ;  the  horses  were  fed  and 
watered,  and  then  the  pair  of  young  veterans  stretched 
themselves  on  the  ground  to  get  what  sleep  they  could 
before  the  breaking  of  day  should  be  the  signal  for  battle. 

^yhile  they  are  sleeping  we  will  look  at  the  organization 
of  the  two  armies,  and  the  plans  on  which  the  battle  of 
Pea  Ridge  was  fought. 

As  before  stated,  the  army  of  General  Curtis  was  about 
sixteen  thousand  strong  when  it  started  from  Rolla,  but 
the  number  had  been  reduced  by  leaving  a  garrison  at 
Springfield  and  by  the  other  causes  that  always  reduce 
the  strength  of  an  army  in  the  field,  so  that  the  aggregate 
of  effective  men  ready  for  battle  was  little  if  any  above 
ten  thousand.  It  was  in  four  divisions— the  first  being 
commanded  by  General  Osterhaus,  the  second  by  General 
Asboth,  the  third  by  General  Jeff  C.  Davis,  and  the 
fourth  by  General  Carr,  Some  of  these  oflacers  had  not 
then  received  their  commissions  as  generals  and  were 
still  known  as  colonels  ;  but  as  they  all  rose  to  the  rank 
shortly  afterward,  it  will  be  convenient  and  not  unjust  for 
us  to  designate  them  by  the  higher  titles,  whose  duties 
they  were  performing. 

Each  division  consisted  of  two  brigades,  but  some  of 
the  brigades  were  very  small,  and  did  not  contain  enough 
men  for  a  full  regiment.  General  Sigel  was  in  command 
of  the  first  and  second  divisions,  and  thus  held  the  position 
of  a  field  marshal,  under  the  superior  command  of  General 
Curtis,  the  commander-in-chief.  The  infantry  regiments 
that  were  in  the  battle  of  Pea  PJdge  on  the  union  side  were 
the  Twenty-fif th,Thirty-fifth,  Thirty-sixth,  Thirty-seventh 
and  Forty-fourth  Illmois,   the  Eighth,  Eighteenth,  and 


172  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

Twenty-second  Indiana,tbe  Fourth  and  Ninth  Iowa,andthe 
Second,  Ninth,  Fifteenth,  Twelfth,  Seventeenth,  Twenty- 
fifth  and  a  part  of  the  Tliird  Missouri ;  of  cavalry  regiments 
there  were  the  Third  Iowa,  the  Third  and  Thirty-ninth 
Illinois,  and  the  First,  Fourth  and  Sixth  Missouri  together 
with  two  battalions  of  Benton  hussars,  and  jMajor  Brown's 
battalion  of  cavalry,  which  served  as  a  body-guard  to  the 
general-in-chief.  The  artillery  comprised  about  fifty 
field-guns  of  various  sizes,  in  four  and  six-gun  batteries, 
from  the  same  states  as  were  represented  by  the  infantry. 
The  rebel  army  was  commanded  by  General  Earl  Van 
Dorn,  and  its  aggregate  was  said  to  be  not  far  from  thirty 
thousand  men.  Van  Dorn's  army  was  composed  as  fol- 
lows :  Missouri  troops,  under  Major-General  Sterling 
Price,  about  nine  thousand ;  Arkansas,  Louisiana  and 
Texas  troops,  under  Brigadier-General  Ben  McCulloch, 
about  thirteen  thousand ;  Choctaw,  Cherokee,  Chickasaw 
and  other  Indian  troops,  with  two  white  regiments,  under 
Brigadier-General  Albert  Pike,  about  seven  thousand. 
No  exact  statement  of  the  number  of  rebel  troops  in  the 
battle  has  ever  been  published,  but  the  above-named 
figures  are  not  far  from  the  correct  ones.  An  officer  of 
Price's  army  wrote  an  account  of  the  battle,  Avhich  was 
published  in  the  Richmond  Whig.  In  this  account  he 
said  the  rebels  estimated  their  strength  at  thirty-five 
thousand,  and  making  all  deductions  for  stragglers  and 
the  usual  falling  off  on  the  line  of  march,  they  had  from 
twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  men  to  go  into 
action. 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  173 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

VAN    DORn's    advance SIGEL's     MASTERLY    RETREAT THE 

BATTLE  BEGUN". 

Van  Dorn  had  learned  through  his  spies  and  the  coun- 
try people  about  the  strong  front  presented  by  General 
Curtis  on  the  northern  bank  of  Sugar  Creek  and  the  hills 
that  bordered  it.  He  therefore  made  his  plans  for  attack- 
ing on  the  other  side,  going  completely  around  to  the  rear 
and  placing  himself  between  the  union  army  and  its  base. 
With  his  great  superiority  of  numbers  he  felt  sure  of  win- 
ning the  battle,  and  in  case  he  did  so  the  whole  union 
force  would  be  compelled  to  surrender,  as  it  would  have 
no  line  of  retreat.  Possibly  some  of  the  cavalry  and 
horse  artillery  might  get  away,  but  this  would  be  a  small 
matter  compared  with  the  capture  of  the  whole  of  the 
infantry  and  the  immense  wagon-train. 

In  carrying  out  this  plan  Van  Dorn  left  the  main  road 
about  half-way  between  Sugar  Creek  and  Fayetteville, 
and  moved  by  a  side  road  which  is  nearly  parallel  to  the 
main  one.  This  side  road  passes  through  Osage  Springs 
and  Bentonville,  branching  at  the  latter  place  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Pineville,  and  connects  with  the  main  road  near 
the  Missouri  state  line  about  eight  miles  further  north. 
The  men  carried  rations  for  four  days,  and  all  were  confi- 
dent that  by  the  end  of  that  time  they  would  be  living 
on  the  stores  they  were  to  capture  from  the  union  army. 

At  Bentonville,  ten  miles  from  the  main  camp  at  Sugar 
Creek,  Van  Dorn's  advance  encountered  General  Sigel's 


174  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

command  on  the  sixth  of  March,  and  had  a  sharply-con- 
tested battle,  though  not  a  very  destructive  one  on  either 
side.  At  first  General  Sigel  supposed  it  was  only  a  scout- 
ing party  that  had  advanced,  but  very  soon  the  numbers 
increased  so  rapidly  that  he  saw  it  necessary  to  retreat. 
And  just  as  the  attack  began  he  received  orders  from 
General  Curtis  to  fall  back  to  Sugar  Creek,  and  conse- 
quently his  movements  had  the  double  stimulus  of  obedi- 
ence to  his  superior  and  overwhelming  numbers  of  the 
enemy. 

The  retreat  was  skilfully  conducted,  and  was  pro- 
nounced by  impartial  students  of  the  war  a  splendid  dis- 
play of  military  ability.  Sigel  sent  his  train  ahead  and 
got  it  away  safely ;  then  he  put  the  rest  of  his  forces  in 
motion,  holding  the  enemy  at  bay  with  a  single  battery 
of  artillery  and  about  one  thousand  of  his  best  infantry. 
As  the  enemy  advanced  it  was  met  with  a  vigorous  fire  of 
shot  and  shell  from  the  rapidly- worked  guns,  supported 
by  the  infantry.  Half  the  battery  was  used  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  while  the  advancing  forces  of  the  rebels  were 
thus  checked  and  thrown  into  confusion,  the  rest  of  the 
battery  was  sent  ahead  to  take  up  a  good  position. 

As  soon  as  the  report  came  that  the  otlier  section  was 
in  position  the  first  would  be  limbered  up  and  rapidly 
rushed  on,  the  infantry  fell  back  to  the  support  of  the 
guns  which  were  ready  for  their  Avork,  and  then  as  the 
enemy  advanced  the  reception  of  a  few  minutes  before 
was  repeated.  Meantime  the  first  section  had  taken  up  a 
new  position ;  and,  fighting  in  this  way,  the  retreat  was 
brilliantly  successful,  and  Sigel's  forces  joined  those  of 
Curtis  before  nightfall. 

What  made  Sigel's  success  all  the  greater  was  that  the 
roads  were  in  sad  condition,  being  cut  up  by  recent 
rains,  and  all  of  them  narrow.  Much  of  the  country  was 
wooded,  and  in  some  places  densely  so ;  but  this  circum- 


THE  LOST  AR3IT.  175 

stance,  while  a  disadvantage  to  the  retreating  force,  was 
also  a  hindrance  to  the  assailing  one,  as  they  were  liable 
to  fall  into  ambuscades  unless  they  exercised  great  caution. 
Sigel's  loss  in  this  retreat  was  less  than  one  hundred  men 
altogether,  and  a  good  part  of  these  were  captured  by 
going  on  a  wrong  road  and  marching  directly  into  the 
enemy's  lines.  During  the  night  a  battery  of  four  pieces 
met  the  same  fate,  and  the  incident  was  thus  humorously 
described  by  one  of  the  rebel  officers  : 

"  It  was  a  little  after  dark,"  said  he,  "  when  our  pickets 
heard  and  soon  saw  a  battery  coming  leisurely  along  the 
road.  The  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  picket  took  in  the 
situation  at  once,  and  when  the  battery  came  up  to  him 
he  promptly  challenged  it.  In  the  gloom  of  the  night  the 
captain  did  not  observe  the  gray  uniforms,  and  thought 
himself  among  friends. 

" '  We  want  to  find  General  Asboth's  Division,'  said 
the  captain. 

"'All  right,'  replied  the  sergeant.  'Keep  along  this 
road,  and  you  '11  find  it  on  the  left.  I  '11  send  a  man  along 
to  show  you.' 

"  The  captain  thanked  the  sergeant  and  accepted  the 
guide,  who  took  the  battery  into  camp  and  quietly 
told  the  boys  what  was  up.  They  gathered  around,  and 
before  they  knew  where  they  were  the  artillerymen  were 
snaked  oft"  their  horses  and  told  to  surrender.  The  poor 
devil  of  a  captain  was  awfully  down  in  the  mouth  when 
he  found  what  a  trap  he  'd  walked  into." 

During  the  night  of  the  sixth  Van  Dorn  kept  most  of 
his  men  in  motion,  so  that  by  daylight  he  had  stretched 
his  line  completely  across  the  road  between  the  union 
army  and  its  base  at  Springfield.  General  Curtis  at  the 
same  time  was  not  idle,  and  changed  his  position,  as  we 
have  before  stated,  converting  into  the  front  what  had 
formerly  been  his  rear.     This  compelled  him  to  move  all 


176  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

his  wagons,  excepting  such  as  had  already  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  which,  happily,  were  not  numerous ; 
but  it  also  compelled  him  to  fight  on  ground  that  had  no 
advantages  for  him,  as  would  have  been  the  case  on  the 
Sugar  Creek  front ;  besides,  it  was  even  better  known  to 
the  rebels  than  to  himself,  as  they  had  nearly  all  the 
people  of  the  country  on  their  side. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Harry  and  Jack 
returned  from  their  expedition  with  General  Vandever. 
From  a  resident  of  the  country  they  learned  that  the 
ground  where  the  union  army  was  encamped  was  known 
as  Pea  Ridge.  Here  was  the  force  of  General  Curtis  that 
was  to  fight  with  nearly  three  times  its  number.  It  was 
a  wooded  table-land  with  occasional  openings,  where  the 
timber  had  been  cleared  away  to  make  room  for  fields. 
There  was  hardly  any  water  upon  it,  and  for  the  two 
entire  days  of  the  battle  few  of  the  animals  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  drink.  The  men  also  suffered  severely,  but  as 
a  supply  could  be  taken  from  Sugar  Creek,  at  the  rear  of 
the  camp,  they  were  less  badly  off  than  the  horses  and 
mules. 

"VVe  will  let  Harry  tell  the  story  of  the  battle,  which  he 
did  in  an  account  that  he  sent  home,  and  was  afterward 
delighted  to  see  in  print. 

"  Neither  Jack  nor  I  got  much  sleep  last  night,  as  we 
were  all  eagerness  to  see  how  the  next  day  was  going  to 
turn  out ;  and  even  if  we  had  been  sleepy,  the  noises  that 
kept  up  all  night  long  would  have  interfered  with  us  a 
good  deal.  Our  men  that  had  walked  so  far  were  allowed 
to  rest,  but  most  of  the  other  regiments  were  moved  about 
so  as  to  have  them  in  a  good  position  for  the  day's  work, 
that  was  sure  to  be  very  lively. 

"Very  soon  after  daylight  the  scouts  came  in  and  told 
General  Curtis  that  the  country  to  the  north,  right  along 
our  road  to  Springfield,  was  full  of  rebels,  and  they  were 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  177 

advancing  to  attack  us.  The  general  thought  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  to  attack  them  first,  or  at  all  events  to 
meet  them  before  they  got  close  up  to  where  we  were. 

"General  Sigel  was  on  our  left  with  the  divisions  of 
Generals  Osterhaus  and  Asboth.  It  was  reported  that  a 
heavy  force  of  rebels  were  coming  in  that  direction,  and 
so  Sigel  was  ordered  to  meet  them.  He  sent  General 
Osterhaus  out  for  that  purpose,  and  he  reached  the  line 
on  the  road  running  north  from  Benton ville  without 
opposition.  Just  beyond  the  road  he  encountered  what 
was  supposed  to  be  a  small  body  of  rebels,  who  were 
posted  in  a  wood,  and  in  order  to  drive  them  out  he 
opened  fire  upon  them  with  three  cannon.  After  a  few 
rounds  had  been  fired  he  ordered  the  artillery  to  stop,  and 
sent  some  cavalry  to  finish  the  fighting  and  clear  the 
wood. 

"  Well,  the  wood  was  cleared ;  but  it  was  cleared  the 
other  way  from  what  had  been  expected.  Instead  of  a 
few  rebels  there,  it  turned  out  that  '  the  woods  were  full 
of  'em,'  the  place  being  held  by  Pike's  division  of  white 
and  Indian  troops.  The  cavalry  met  a  heavy  fire  of  rifles, 
shotguns  and  small  arms  of  every  kind,  and  the  charge 
was  completely  broken  up ;  and  not  only  was  the  charge 
broken  up,  but  the  rebels  followed  the  retreating  cavalry, 
and  in  the  confusion  they  managed  to  capture  the  three 
cannon  that  had  been  shelling  them. 

"  But  they  did  n't  keep  the  cannon  very  long,  for  Gen- 
eral Osterhaus  brought  up  his  infantry  and  drove  the  rebels 
away.  The  white  and  red  rebels  were  busy  plundering 
and  scalping  the  men  they  had  captured,  and  were  quar- 
reling over  the  possession  of  the  horses  and  saddles,  and 
while  their  attention  was  thus  drawn  away  they  were  at- 
tacked and  defeated.  The  Indians  and  whites  were  all 
mixed  up  in  this  fight,  and  several  of  the  Indians  were 
left  dead  on  the  ground,  along  with  some  Texans,  who 
12 


178  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

were  armed  with  big  bowie-knives  in  addition  to  their 
firearms.  Tlie  Texan s  fought  with  these  linives,  and  sev- 
eral of  our  soldiers  were  killed  by  them." 

This  statement  was  made  at  tlie  time,  and  has  been 
denied  by  the  rebels.  In  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the 
assertion  the  following  quotation  from  a  rebel  account  in 
the  Richmond  Whiff  of  April  9,  1862,  ought  to  suffice  : 

"  About  forty-five  men  lay  in  the  space  of  two  or  three  liundred 
yards  to  the  rear  of  the  battery  ;  all  save  one  entirely  dead,  and  aU 
but  tliree  Dutchmen.  One  was  gasping  in  the  agonies  of  dissolu- 
tion ;  three  were  our  comrades.  Here  was  a  sterner  feature  of  the 
war  than  any  I  had  yet  seen.  The  Texans,  with  their  large,  heavy 
knives,  had  riven  skulls  in  twain,  mingling  blood  and  brains  and 
hair.  The  sight  was  a  sad  one,  but  not  devoid  of  satisfaction  to 
our  own  exiles  from  home  and  wife." 

Pea  Ridge  would  seem  to  have  been  the  scene  of  more 
barbaric  fighting  than  any  other  battle  of  the  war,  when 
we  include  the  performances  of  Texans  and  Indians ;  but 
in  defense  of  the  Texans  it  may  be  said  that  the  bowie- 
knife  is  really  no  more  barbaric  a  weapon  than  the  sword 
in  its  mode  of  operation,  whatever  may  be  urged  against 
the  practice  of  carrying  it  habitually.  The  wounds  de- 
scribed by  the  writer  in  the  Richmond  Whic/  could  easily 
be  attributed  to  a  cavalry  saber  and  nobody  would  think 
it  out  of  the  ordinary  modes  of  warfare. 

With  the  increase  of  civilization  in  Texas  and  the 
Southwest  generally  since  the  war  the  bowie-knife  seems 
to  have  gone  out  of  fashion.  Little  is  heard  of  it  noAva- 
days,  and  as  the  state  of  Texas  has  a  law  imposing  a 
heavy  fine  for  the  carrying  of  concealed  weajDons,  it  is 
probable  that  this  famous  implement  will  soon  be  forgot- 
ten altogether,  and  be  seen  only  in  museums  by  the  side 
of  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife. 

"  Why  is  it  called  the  bowie-knife  ?  "  a  youthful  reader 
asks. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  179 

It  is  so  called  after  Colonel  Bowie,  its  inventor.  His 
name  has  clung  to  his  knife  just  as  that  of  Doctor  Guil- 
lotin  has  adhered  to  the  beheading  machine  which  he 
designed,  and  that  of  Colonel  Colt  to  his  revolving 
pistol. 


180  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE    FIGHTIXG    NEAR    ELKHORN     TAVERN HARRY'S 

EXPERIENCE    UNDER    FIRE, 

Van  Dorn's  movements  were  delayed  by  the  obstruc- 
tions on  the  roads  by  which  he  moved.  As  soon  as  Gen- 
eral Curtis  became  satisfied  that  the  rebels  were  trying  to 
get  around  to  his  rear,  he  ordered  General  Dodge,  who 
commanded  the  fourth  division  of  the  army,  to  cut  down 
trees  along  the  road  leading  north  from  Bentonville,  and 
the  order  was  instantly  carried  out.  General  Dodge  had 
been  ill  in  his  tent  for  three  days,  but  when  the  news  of 
the  approaching  enemy  reached  him  he  was  cured  as  if  by 
magic.  Remarking  that  it  was  no  time  to  be  sick,  he  got 
out  of  bed,  assumed  the  active  command  of  his  division, 
and  during  the  afternoon  of  the  sixth  supervised  the  work 
of  a  large  detail  of  men,  who  felled  trees  across  the  road 
and  otherwise  blocked  it  to  delay  the  rebel  advance.  He 
kept  at  it  until  the  rebel  skirmishers  began  to  fire  upon 
his  men,  and  as  he  had  orders  not  to  bring  on  an  engage- 
ment he  prudently  withdrew. 

"  General  Dodge  was  a  trump,"  said  Harry  afterwards, 
when  telling  the  story  of  the  battle  ;  "  sick  in  his  tent  and 
in  the  doctor's  hands  before  the  battle  began,  he  was  al- 
most constantly  in  the  saddle  for  three  days.  When  the 
battle  was  over  and  the  enemy  had  retreated,  he  dropped 
to  the  ground  and  went  back  to  his  sick-bed.  It 's  a  good 
example  of  what  a  man  can  do  under  excitement." 

"And  there  was  another  example  of  the  same  sort,"  said 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  181 

Jack.  "  There  was  Major  Post,  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Ilh- 
nois  who  became  General  PhiUp  Sidney  Post,  and  served 
gallantly  in  a  good  many  battles.  Early  on  the  second 
day  at  Pea  Ridge  he  was  wounded  in  the  arm,  but  he  kept 
his  place  with  his  regiment  and  would  not  stop  to  have  his 
wound  dressed.  The  surgeon  insisted,  but  he  would  n't 
go.  '  T  can  walk  and  give  orders,'  he  said, '  even  if  I  can't 
use  my  arm,  and  I  'm  going  to  stay  here.'  The  colonel  of 
his  regiment  had  to  order  him  to  go  to  the  field  hospital. 
He  went  very  reluctantly,  as  he  wanted  to  see  the  battle 
fought  out  to  the  end,  and  was  determined  to  do  all  he 
could  toward  winning  it." 

The  same  spirit  prevailed  among  officers  and  men 
throughout  the  whole  army.  Of  course  there  were  in- 
stances of  shirking,  as  will  always  be  the  case  in  any 
battle,  but  they  were  not  numerous.  Pei'haps  the  knowl- 
edge that  the  enemy  was  right  on  the  line  of  communica- 
tions, so  as  to  cut  off  retreat  and  render  surrender  nec- 
essary in  case  of  a  defeat,  had  something  to  do  with  the 
good  conduct  of  a  few,  but  it  could  not  be  the  case 
throughout  the  whole  army.  And  to  do  the  rebels  justice, 
they  displayed  similar  courage,  but  they  had  the  advantage 
of  being  the  attacking  party  and  knowing  that  they  were 
superior  in  numbers  to  the  union  forces. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  seventh,"  said  Harry,  in  his 
story  of  the  battle,  "  there  was  great  activity  all  through 
the  union  camp.  Every  drum  and  fife  in  the  army  was 
called  into  use,  and  never  before  had  the  woods  of  Pea 
liidge  resounded  to  so  much  martial  music.  Rations  for 
two  days  had  been  prepared,  the  soldier's  cartridge-boxes 
were  filled  to  their  fullest  capacity,  every  man  made  a 
careful  inspection  of  the  lock  of  his  rifle  to  make  sure  that 
it  was  in  perfect  order,  and  then  the  order  was  given  to 
load  with  ball  cartridge  and  be  in  readiness  to  advance 
when  the  word  was  given. 


182  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"  We  were  kept  waiting  while  General  Sigel  had  his 
fight  with  the  enemy  on  the  left  of  our  line  that  I  've  al- 
ready told  about.  While  we  were  getting  ready  for  work 
Jack  and  I  went  to  General  Vandever  and  asked  what  we 
should  do. 

"  '  What  do  you  want  to  do  ? '  said  he. 

"  '  We  want  to  do  the  best  we  can,'  I  answered,  '  and  help 
all  we  can.     We  '11  do  anything  you  tell  us  to  do.' 

" '  Well,  then,'  the  general  said,  very  quickly,  '  stay 
near  me  and  act  as  my  volunteer  aids  till  I  tell  you  to  do 
something  else.'  Then  he  turned  away  to  attend  to 
getting  his  brigade  in  order,  and  we  stood  still  and  waited 
till  he  came  back. 

"  He  was  gone  only  a  minute  or  two,  and  then  told  Jack 
to  ride  over  to  General  Carr  and  say  the  second  brigade 
was  waiting  for  orders.  He  told  me  to  go  to  General 
Dodge  and  ask  if  he  had  received  orders  to  move  yet,  and 
to  let  him  know  whenever  orders  came. 

"Jack  came  back  with  the  order  for  the  brigade  to 
follow  that  of  General  Dodge,  which  had  received  its 
orders  just  before  I  got  to  it.  One  of  General  Carr's  aids 
had  brought  the  order  to  General  Dodge,  and  he  rode  with 
me  to  General  Vandever  to  repeat  the  order  which  Jack 
had  already  brought. 

"  The  order  to  advance  \vas  loudly  cheered,  and  the 
men  stepped  off  as  gayly  as  though  they  were  gohig  to 
dress-parade,  and  most  of  them  a  great  deal  more  so.  I 
couldn  't  help  thinking  how  many  of  these  gallant  fellows 
would  be  stark  and  stiff  on  the  ground  or  suffering  with 
wounds  before  another  morning  sun  would  rise  on  them. 
We  could  hear  the  roll  of  musketry  and  the  booming  of 
cannon  where  General  Sigel  was  engaged  on  the  left,  and 
before  long  our  advance  was  engaged  with  that  of  the 
rebels,  and  the  shot  and  shell  were  crashing  among  the 
trees  as  their  artillery  opened  upon  us. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  183 

'  General  Dodge's  brigade  marched  up  the  main  road 
toward  the  Missouri  state  line,  and  filed  off  to  the  east 
near  Elkhorn  Tavern.  As  soon  as  it  got  into  position  it 
opened  with  a  battery  upon  the  rebels,  who  were  posted 
in  a  wood  on  a  slope  in  front.  The  battery  was  promptly 
replied  to,  and  then  the  shots  were  exchanged  with  great 
rapidity.  There  were  six  guns  on  each  side,  though  some 
of  our  men  thought  the  rebels  had  eight  or  ten  guns,  but 
we  afterward  learned  they  had  only  six ;  but  it  was  the 
best  battery  in  their  whole  army.  Our  battery  was  the 
First  Iowa,  and  its  captain  prided  himself  on  having 
brought  it  to  a  state  of  great  efficiency,  but  he  wasn  't  quite 
equal  to  his  antagonist. 

"  General  Vandever's  brigade  went  a  little  beyond  Elk- 
horn  Tavern  and  took  position  on  the  left  of  the  road 
nearly  opposite  to  where  General  Dodge  had  stretched  out 
to  the  right.  As  I  sat  on  my  horse  close  behind  the  gen- 
eral I  could  see  that  we  had  a  dry  ravine  in  front  of  us 
and  a  wooded  slope  farther  on,  and  it  did  not  need  sharp 
eyes  to  discover  that  this  slope  was  well  occupied  by 
rebels.  The  general  ordered  the  Dabuque  battery 
(Captain  Hayden)  to  open  fire  on  these  gray  and  butternut 
coats,  and  as  he  did  so  there  was  a  lively  running  of  the 
fellows  to  cover.  They  showed  by  their  actions  that 
Captain  Hayden's  shots  were  well  aimed;  but  we  had 
not  given  them  more  than  two  or  three  rounds  before  a 
battery  on  the  other  side  replied  to  us. 

"  That  battery  was  evidently  in  the  hands  of  a  good 
officer,  as  he  got  our  range  at  the  very  first  fire.  A  shot 
came  whistling  close  to  the  general,  and  1  thought  it 
passed  between  him  and  me,  but  an  officer  who  was  there 
said  it  went  over  our  heads.  You  have  no,  idea  if  you  've 
never  heard  it,  what  a  spiteful  screeching  a  cannon-shot 
makes  when  it  goes  by  you.  Involuntarily  you  dodge, 
but  really  dodging  is  of  no  use,  as  the  ball  has  gone  past 


184  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

you  before  you  hear  it.  A  cannon-ball  moves  a  great  deal 
faster  than  sound.  According  to  our  school-books  sound 
moves  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-two  feet  a 
second,  and  the  scientific  gunners  say  the  velocity  of  a 
cannon-ball  is  from  one  thousand  four  hundred  to 
one  thousand,  eight  hundred  feet  a  second.  That  of  a 
rifle-ball  is  greater,  and  so  by  the  time  you  can  hear  the 
sound  made  by  a  missile,  whether  large  or  small,  it  has 
gone  way  past  you. 

"  At  the  third  tire  the  rebels  blew  up  one  of  our  limber- 
chests,  which' was  standing  close  behind  the  gun  to  which 
it  belonged.  The  great  puff  of  smoke  that  rose  from  it 
showed  the  rebels  that  they  were  taking  good  aim,  and 
they  poured  in  their  shot  very  ra^jidly  after  that.  In  ten 
minutes  more  they  blew  up  another  limber-chest,  and 
then  the  general  ordered  the  battery  to  change  its  position, 
and  sent  me  to  carry  the  order  to  Captain  Hay  den. 

"It  was  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  the 
first  shots  were  exchanged  on  this  part  of  the  field,  and 
in  fifteen  minutes  the  whole  of  General  Carr's  division 
was  engaged.  Before  I  could  get  to  Captain  Hayden  to 
give  him  General  Yandever's  order  the  rebels  made  a  rush 
upon  the  battery  and  captured  one  of  the  guns  ;  the  rest 
were  hauled  back  a  short  distance,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  Ninth  Iowa,  which  was  supporting  the  battery,  poured 
in  a  heavy  fire  and  covered  the  ground  with  the  enemy's 
dead  and  wounded.  The  rebels  were  driven  back  to  their 
cover  in  the  woods,  and  the  gun  that  had  been  captured 
was  retaken,  as  they  did  not  have  time  to  drag  it  from 
the  field. 

" '  They  stand  like  veterans,'  said  General  Yandever, 
referring  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Ninth  Iowa.  '  Their  long 
march  yesterday  has  n't  affected  their  courage.  There 
were  never  better  men  on  a  battlefield.' 

"  Just  as  he  said  this  Colonel  Herron,  of  the  Ninth  came 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  185 

up,  and  the  general  congratulated  him ;  and  then  the 
general  rode  along  the  line  and  said  to  the  soldiers  the 
same  that  he  had  to  their  commander.  The  men  cheered 
him  and  were  evidently  determined  to  do  their  part  to- 
ward winning  the  battle  for  the  union  side.  But  would  they 
succeed  against  all  those  masses  of  men  that  could  be 
seen  on  the  hill-slope  to  the  east  and  west,  and  crowded 
in  the  brushwood  and  among  the  trees  that  stretched 
away  to  the  north  ? 

"  After  this  for  a  while  there  was  a  lull  in  the  fighting, 
and  meantime  we  could  hear  the  artillery  and  small  arms 
to  the  left,  where  General  Sigel  and  General  Davis,  with 
their  divisions,  were  sustaining  the  shock  of  the  enemy. 
They  were  overmatched  in  numbers,  but  their  weapons 
were  more  effective,  and  they  had  a  better  supply  of  am- 
nnuiition.  Many  of  the  enemy  were  armed  only  with 
squirrel-rifles  and  shot-guns,  and,  of  course,  they  could 
not  load  and  fire  with  the  rapidity  of  our  men.  Had  they 
been  able  to  do  so,  and  had  their  weapons  been  equally 
effective  with  ours,  the  battle  would  have  been  hope- 
lessly lost  to  us  by  reason  of  the  great  superiority  of  the 
rebels  in  numbers  alone  and  their  better  knowledge  of  the 
ground. 

"  By  and  by  we  heard  that  Sigel  and  Davis  had  driven 
away  the  enemy  and  were  slowly  drawing  in  their  lines, 
as  only  a  small  force  were  in  front  of  them.  The  attack 
on  General  Carr's  division  was  renewed  by  the  rebel  artil- 
lery, and  we  could  see  that  they  had  a  great  number  of 
men  gathered  behind  their  battery  to  charge  upon  our 
lines  at  the  i^roper  moment.  So  General  Carr  sent  an 
order  for  General  Vandever  to  fall  back,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  gave  a  similar  order  to  General  Dodge. 

"We  fell  back  perhaps  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  close 
to  Elkhorn  Tavern  and  a  little  to  the  north  of  it.  There 
our  battery  opened  fire  again,  still  supported  by  the  Ninth 


186  THE  LOST  ABMT. 

Iowa,  and  there  the  rebel  battery  again  poured  its  fire 
upon  us. 

"  Near  the  house  were  two  companies  of  infantry  drawn 
up  in  line  and  waiting  orders  to  move.  I  had  just  gone 
to  carry  an  order  for  them  to  come  up  to  the  support  of 
the  Ninth,  when  a,  shell  passed  close  to  me  and  struck  in 
their  ranks,  where  it  burst.  Two  of  the  men  were  killed 
and  five  were  wounded  by  this  shell.  Almost  at  the  same 
time  another  shell  exploded  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the 
house  and  shattered  the  leg  of  a  soldier  who  stood  there. 
Another  fell  among  some  horse-teams,  frightening  the 
animals  into  running  away.  They  dashed  up  the  road  in 
the  direction  of  the  enemy,  and  were  lost  in  a  cloud  of 
dust.  In  its  runaway  career  one  of  the  wagons  knocked 
down  some  of  our  soldiers,  wounding  one  seriously  and 
two  or  three  slightly.  A  solid  shot  struck  the  house  and 
went  completely  through  it,  but  did  no  damage  to  any  one, 
as  the  family  had  taken  refuge  iu  the  cellar." 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  187 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

GENERAL  CAER's    DIVISIOX    DKIVEIST    BACK JACK    BECOMES  A 

PRISONER. 

"  When  I  had  delivered  my  orders,  and  just  as  I  was 
returning  to  General  Yandever,"  continues  Harry,  "  the 
rebels  made  a  charge  upon  our  battery  and  the  infantry 
that  supported  it.  This  was  about  noon,  or  perhaps  a  little 
later ;  I  can't  say  exactly,  as  I  was  too  much  excited  to 
make  a  note  of  the  time. 

"  It  was  n't  a  bayonet  charge  that  they  made,  because 
they  had  no  bayonets  to  charge  with.  They  charged  with 
double-barreled  shotguns,  loaded  with  ball  and  buckshot, 
and  to  judge  by  the  result,  the  shotgun  in  this  way  is  a 
formidable  weapon.  They  reserved  their  fire  until  they 
were  pretty  close  to  our  lines  ;  then  they  delivered  it  at 
short  range  and  without  taking  any  particular  aim,  rely- 
ing on  the  scattering  of  the  balls  and  buckshot  to  give  a 
deadly  effect  to  the  assault.  They  were  met  with  well- 
delivered  volleys  from  our  rifles  and  driven  back,  and 
they  left  the  ground  strewed  with  their  dead  and 
wounded. 

Again  they  charged,  after  resting  a  little  while,  and 
again  they  met  with  the  same  reception ;  but  they  man- 
aged to  force  us  back  a  little.  Then  there  was  another  lull, 
but  only  a  short  one,  and  suddenly  the  shot  and  shell 
rained  along  tlie  whole  length  of  our  line.  General  Dodge 
was  forced  back,  and  so  was  General  Yandever.  Many  of 
our  officers  fell  and  were  carried  to  the  hospitals  in  the 


188  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

rear,  and  many  of  our  brave  soldiers  were  stretched  on 
the  ground.  There  was  a  niehincholy  satisfaction  in 
knowing  that  the  enemy  was  losing  heavily,  but  with  his 
advantage  in  numbers  he  could  keep  up  the  fight,  if  only 
his  ammunition  held  out,  long  after  our  whole  force  would 
be  used  up.  General  Carr  sent  several  times  for  rein- 
forcements, but  there  were  none  to  be  sent  to  him.  Gen- 
eral Curtis  told  him  to  '  persevere,'  and  so  he  did,  and, 
fighting  whenever  the  enemy  advanced,  he  continued  all 
through  the  afternoon. 

" '  I  must  have  three  regiments  and  two  batteries,  or 
sunset  and  darkness,'  said  the  general,  'or  I  cannot  hold 
on.'  " 

Just  before  one  of  the  charges  which  the  rebels  made 
near  Elkhorn  Tavern,  General  Yandever  sent  Jack  with 
an  order  to  Colonel  Herron.  On  came  the  rebels,  and 
down  went  Jack's  horse  with  a  bullet  through  his  neck; 
another  bullet  grazed  Jack's  side,  but  onl}'^  scratched  the 
skin,  after  tearing  a  great  hole  in  his  coat.  At  the  same 
time  Colonel  Herron's  horse  fell  dead,  a  cannon-shot  hav- 
ing gone  clear  through  him,  and  in  the  fall  the  colonel 
Avas  severely  hurt;  a  musket-ball  struck  his  leg,  and 
between  the  fall  and  the  wound  he  was  unable  to  stand. 
Jack  rushed  to  his  side  to  raise  him,  and  as  he  did  so  the 
rebels  closed  around  them. 

"  Surrender !  "  said  a  tall  fellow  in  a  butternut  coat  and 
trousers,  as  he  flourished  a  shotgun  and  pointed  it  at 
Colonel  Herron. 

"There  's  nothing  else  to  be  done,"  replied  the  colonel. 
"  But  you  '11  have  to  help  me  to  go  along  with  you;  I  don't 
believe  I  can  walk." 

"  I  '11  show  you  how  to  walk,"  exclaimed  the  fellow. 
What  he  proposed  to  do  will  be  forever  unknown,  as  just 
then  an  officer  came  up  and  received  the  colonel's  surren- 
der.   He  ordered  two  men  to  assist  him  to  the  rear,  and 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  189 

then  went  on  to  look  after  the  fighting  that  was  raging  in 
front. 

Jack's  presence  had  not  been  specially  observed,  as 
both  soldier  and  officer  had  been  attracted  to  the  advan- 
tage of  securing  the  captured  colonel.  Jack  was  meditat- 
ing on  the  possibility  of  slipping  through  the  lines  some- 
how and  getting  to  his  friends,  when  he  thought  of  the 
wounded  colonel  and  the  possibility  of  assisting  him. 

"  It  '11  be  a  hard  time  for  Colonel  Herron,  wounded  and 
a  prisoner,"  said  Jack  to  himself,  "  and  it  '11  be  mighty 
risky  for  me  to  try  to  run  back  through  the  lines.  I 
might  be  shot  by  my  own  friends,  and  that  I  should  n't 
like." 

Whether  he  meant  by  this  that  he  had  no  objections  to 
being  shot  by  the  enemy  we  will  not  undertake  to  say, 
but  certain  it  is  that  he  was  not  unlike  others  in  being 
specially  averse  to  being  shot  by  mistake.  One  of  the 
bitterest  reflections  that  has  ever  been  made  by  the 
southern  people  on  the  death  of  Stonewall  Jackson  is,  that 
he  was  killed  by  his  own  men,  who  mistook  him  and  his 
escort  for  a  scouting  party  of  the  enemy. 

Jack  had  hastily  made  up  his  mind  to  stay  by  the 
colonel,  when  he  was  rudely  taken  in  charge  by  one  of  the 
rebel  soldiers  and  ordered  to  march  along  with  him.  He 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  remain  with  Colonel  Plerron.  At 
first  the  request  was  refused,  but  on  the  latter  giving  his 
parole  not  to  attempt  to  escape,  and  vouching  that  Jack 
would  do  the  same,  he  was  permitted  to  accompany  the 
officer  to  whom  he  was  so  much  attached. 

They  were  sent  to  the  rear,  but  for  some  minutes  were 
not  out  of  danger,  as  the  cannon-shot  from  their  own  lines 
were  crashing  through  the  trees  or  plowing  up  the  ground 
in  their  vicinity.  A  limb  cut  from  a  tree  by  one  of  these 
shots  fell  close  to  Jack,  and  some  of  the  twigs  brushed 
him  in  their  descent ;  had  the  limb  fallen  upon  him  the 


190  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

result  might  have  been  serious.  Not  six  feet  from  where 
he  was  standing  at  one  time  a  falling  branch  killed  a  Con- 
federate soldier  and  severely  wounded  two  or  three  others. 
A  company  of  cavalry  was  completely  broken  up  by  an 
exploding  shell,  the  horses  taking  alarm  and  becoming 
utterly  uncontrollable.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  their 
riders  to  restrain  them  they  ran  away,  and  the  men  were 
violently  thrown  to  the  ground  or  brushed  oft"  among  the 
trees. 

We  may  remark  here  that  owing  to  the  wooded  nature 
of  the  ground  where  the  battle  of  Pea  IJidge  was  fought, 
the  cavalry  on  both  sides  were  of  comparatively  little  use. 
Among  the  brushwood  and  trees  that  spread  over  that 
region  it  was  impossible  to  preserve  the  formation  of  the 
lines  sufficiently  to  make  a  charge  with  any  effect,  except 
in  a  very  few  instances.  Then,  too,  where  the  artillery 
was  firing,  the  crashing  of  the  shot  and  shell  among  the 
trees  and  the  falling  of  the  limbs  frightened  the  horses,  as 
we  have  just  seen,  and  rendered  them  worse  than  useless. 
The  ca,valry  was  unable  to  accomplish  anything  of  conse- 
quence, through  no  fault  of  the  men,  but  owing  to  the 
nature  of  the  country,  and  in  several  instances  the  runa- 
way horses  demoralized  the  infantry  by  dashing  through 
the  lines  at  inopportune  moments. 

The  history  of  warfare  in  all  ages  abounds  in  accounts 
of  panic  created  by  runaway  animals  on  the  battlefield. 
Frightened  elephants  and  horses  caused  the  loss  of 
battles  by  the  Greeks,  Romans  and  other  warriors  of  anti- 
quity, long  before  the  invention  of  gunpowder.  Since  its 
discovery  and  use  the  instances  of  its  panic-producing 
qualities  are  numerous.  So  much  is  this  the  case  that 
the  elephant  among  the  Eastern  nations  has  been  almost 
entirely  discarded  on  the  battlefield,  and  is  now  only  used 
in  war  for  the  more  prosaic  purposes  of  a  beast  of  burden. 
With  the  increased  range  of  artillery  and  small-arms  in 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  191 

the  past  forty  years  the  horse  is  g-radually  dimhiishing  in 
importance  as  a  fighting  animal,  and  cavahy  is  chiefly 
useful  nowadays  for  scouting  purposes  and  for  pursuing 
a  demoralized  enemy  in  retreat. 

We  will  leave  the  two  captives  in  the  hands  of  their 
captors  and  return  to  Harry,  whom  we  left  with  General 
Vandever. 

The  Ninth  Iowa  -was  getting  out  of  ammunition,  and 
the  general  sent  Harry  to  order  up  a  fresh  supply.  Away 
•he  rode  to  the  rear,  where  the  ammunition-wagons  were 
stationed,  and  very  quickly  hunted  up  the  one  that  he 
w\anted  and  sent  it  forward.  He  not  only  sent  but  ac- 
companied it,  partly  in  order  to  show  the  road  and  partly 
to  make  sure  that  the  driver  did  not  turn  aside  on  the 
way  and  seek  a  place  of  greater  safety  than  where  the 
shot  and  shell  were  falling.  The  driver  was  a  brave 
fellow,  however,  and  energetically  lashed  his  team  to 
keep  up  with  the  galloping  youth  in  front  of  him. 

By  the  tim'e  they  reached  the  fighting  line  the  regiment 
had  again  fallen  back,  leaving  Elkhorn  Tavern  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  Not  only  did  Harry  bring  the  am- 
munition, which  was  speedily  distributed,  but  he  brought 
a  message  from  General  Curtis  to  General  Carr  that  he 
was  about  to  be  reinforced. 

"  General  Asbotli  has  just  returned  from  pursuing  the 
rebels  on  the  left,"  said  Harry,  "  and  is  coming  with  two 
regiments  and  a  battery  to  support  you." 

The  word  ran  along  the  line  like  wildfire,  and  the  men 
cheered  heartily.  Again  the  rebels  came  on  in  great 
force,  and  again  they  were  met  by  a  withering  fire,  and 
also  by  a  bayonet  charge  by  the  infantry  of  both  brigades 
of  Carr's  divisi(m. 

But  the  rebels  were  as  brave  as  the  men  they  were 
facing,  and  before  the  reinforcements  could  reach  the 
sorely-pressed  division  there  was  another  charge,  which 


192  THE  LOST  ARMY 

forced  the  union  line  back  across  a  series  of  open  fields 
to  the  edge  of  a  wood,  whicli  gave  it  the  same  sort  of 
shelter  the  rebels  had  enjoyed  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  day.  The  union  forces  had  the  advantage  now,  as 
the  enemy  was  obliged  to  make  its  charges  across  the 
fields,  which  could  be  raked  with  the  artillery  and  small- 
arms  with  destructive  efi:'ect. 

"  We  've  got  'em  now,"  said  General  Vandever,  turning 
to  one  of  his  ofiicers;  "and  here  we'll  stick  till  night 
comes  to  stop  the  fighting.  Sunset  will  come  in  an  hour, 
and  we  can  easily  hold  the  position  till  then." 

His  prediction  was  verified.  The  ^only  attack  made  by 
the  rebels  on  the  last  position  was  easily  repulsed,  and 
then  the  sun  dipped  below  the  horizon  and  the  battle 
was  over  for  the  day. 

The  hostile  forces  lay  within  a  thousand  feet  or  so  of 
each  other  all  through  the  night,  neither  party  daring  to 
light  a  fire  anywhere  along  its  front,  for  fear  of  revealing 
its  whereabouts.  The  air  was  still,  and  conversation  M^as 
carried  on  in  whispers,  for  fear  of  scouts  creeping  close  up 
to  the  lines  and  overhearing  what  was  said.  The  weary 
men  lay  down  where  they  were,  and  sought  the  sleep 
they  so  much  needed  after  the  long  day's  fighting.  As 
for  the  generals  and  other  ofiicers  few  of  them  closed  an 
eye  during  the  long  night,  as  they  were  occupied  with 
plans  and  preparations  for  the  morrow. 

In  all  the  camp  there  was  no  one  more  active  than  our 
young  friend  Harry.  He  sadly  missed  the  companionship 
of  Jack,  but  having  learned  from  a  prisoner  taken  in  the 
last  charge  and  repulse  of  the  rebels  that  his  friend  was 
uninjured  and  with  Colonel  Herron,  he  rejoiced,  on  the 
whole,  at  the  situation.  "He'll  be  useful  to  the  colonel, 
and  perhaps  it 's  all  for  the  best  that  he's  a  prisoner  just 
now,"  was  his  soliloquy  as  he  turned  to  General  Vandever 
and  asked  if  he  had  any  orders. 


Indians  Scalping  the  Dead. 


Page  206. 


THE  LOST  AEMY.  193 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  general.  "  Go  to  camp  and  order 
up  some  coffee,  bread  and  meat  for  the  men,  and  send 
along  their  blankets  and  overcoats.  We  '11  stay  right 
here  through  the  night,  and  be  ready  for  what  comes  in 
the  morning." 

Away  went  Harry  with  the  order.  When  he  reached 
the  camp  he  found  the  order  had  been  anticipated,  as  the 
camp-guard  and  wagon-drivers  had  a  good  supper  ready, 
as  good  as  the  army  rations  afforded,  and  in  less  than  fif- 
teen minutes  it  was  loaded  into  wagons,  where  the  over- 
coats and  blankets  already  were  lulled,  and  dispatched 
to  the  front. 
13 


194  THE  LOST  ABMY. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE    NIGHT    IN    CAMP — BEGINNING    OF    THE    LAST    DAY's 
BATTLE. 

"You've  done  well,"  said  the  general.  "Now  go  and 
lie  down  somewhere  and  get  all  the  sleep  you  can,  as  you  '11 
have  enough  to  do  to-morrow." 

Harry  touched  his  cap  in  acknowledgment  of  the  com- 
mand and  then  jogged  back  to  camp,  which  was  not  more 
than  a  mile  to  the  rear.  Learning  that  it  was  possible  to 
get  to  the  bank  of  the  creek  without  danger,  he  rode  down 
there  and  watered  his  horse.  The  animal  drank  long  and 
eagerly,  as  he  had  not  had  a  drop  of  water  through  the 
long  and  active  day.  Then  he  returned  to  the  camp,  and 
fastening  the  animal  to  a  wagon- wheel,  having  first  filled 
his  nose-bag  with  grain,  he  lay  down  beneath  the  wagon 
and  tried  to  sleep. 

But  he  slept  very  little,  j^robably  not  thirty  minutes  al- 
together. Everything  was  in  commotion  around  the 
camp.  Ambulances  were  coming  and  going  to  bring  in 
the  wounded  men ;  the  doctors  were  busy  with  their  suf- 
fering patients ;  men  were  sitting  or  standing  in  little 
groups,  deeply  engaged  in  speculating  on  the  probable 
events  of  the  morrow ;  mounted  men  were  moving  about 
with  orders  or  messages  or  seeking  missing  oflBcers  or 
soldiers,  and  probably  not  one  person  in  twenty  thought 
of  sleep.  In  the  whole  position  occupied  by  the  army 
during  that  night  it  is  probable  that  the  most  quiet  spot 
was  where  the  division  of  General  Carr  had  bivouacked 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  195 

in  front  of  the  enemy,  for  there,  at  any  rate,  they  slept 
undisturbed. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  battle  in  the  morning  all  the 
teams  had  been  harnessed,  to  be  ready  to  move  the  wagons 
whenever  M'anted.  The  mules  had  not  been  fed  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  nor  had  they  received  a  drop  of  water  for 
half  that  time.  The  voice  of  a  mule  at  its  best  is  not 
melodious,  and  when  to  the  ordinary  sound  of  his  bray  is 
added  a  plaintive  wail  of  suffering  it  falls  distressingly  on 
the  ear.  Lower  and  lower  grew  the  note  till  it  fell  to  a 
moan  that  was  well  calculated  to  banish  sleep  from  any 
one  not  entirely  worn  out  with  exertion.  So  thought 
Harry,  and  after  several  vain  endeavors  he  rose  to  his  feet 
and  joined  one  of  the  groups  of  soldiers  and  drivers  who 
were  discussing  the  situation. 

During  the  evening  the  lines  of  the  army  were  drawn 
in  on  the  left  and  preparations  were  made  to  bring  the 
forces  of  Sigel  and  Davis,  who  had  suffered  but  slightly 
during  the  day,  to  the  relief  of  the  worn  out  division  of 
General  Carr,  The  concentration  was  completed  by  mid- 
night :  General  Davis's  division  was  placed  on  the  left, 
General  Carr's  in  the  center,  and  the  two  divisions  of 
General  Sigel  held  the  right  of  our  line.  Thus  arranged, 
the  brunt  of  the  fighting  would  be  concentrated  on  Sigel's 
command  in  case  the  rebels  remained  in  the  positions 
where  they  were  at  nightfall.  In  case  they  had  changed 
during  the  night,  it  would  enable  General  Carr  to  be 
quickly  re-enforced  if  the  odds  against  him  should  be  as 
heavy  as  they  were  on  the  day  before. 

Harry  rode  out  to  the  front  again  a  little  before  daylight, 
and  as  he  passed  along  the  road  he  heard  the  sound  of 
vocal  music  rolling  up  from  the  German  regiments  that 
composed  the  greater  part  of  General  Sigel's  command. 
He  was  unacquainted  with  German,  and  so  the  words  of 
the  song  were  unknown  to  him,  but  the  music  under  the 


196  THE  LOST  ABMT. 

circumstances  sounded  strangely.  "And  yet,"  he  re- 
marked to  himself,  "  it  seems  to  me  that  I'  ve  read  of  some- 
thing of  the  kind  somewhere  else. 

"  Now  I  remember,"  said  he,  suddenly,  as  he  straightened 
in  his  saddle  ;  "  it  was  in  the  Crimean  war,  the  night  be- 
fore the  storming  of  the  MalakofE  and  Redan  and  the 
capture  of  Sebastopol.  I  recall  it  all  now ;  the  whole 
British  army  in  the  trenches  sang  the  words  of  a  Scottish 
air,  with  which  all  were  familiar,  and  the  story  has  been 
told  in  verse  by  Bayard  Taylor.  Here  are  some  of  his 
lines : 

"  '  They  sang  of  love,  and  not  of  fame, 
Forgot  was  Britain's  glory. 
Each  heart  recalled  a  different  name 
But  all  sang  Annie  Laurie. 

' '  Voice  after  voice  caught  up  the  song, 
Until  its  tender  passion 
Rose  like  an  antlieni  rich  and  strong, 
Their  battle  eve's  confession. 

"  '  Dear  girl,  tlae  name  he  dared  not  speak. 

Yet  as  the  song  grew  louder, 

Something  upon  the  soldier's  cheek 

Washed  off  the  stain  of  powder. 

******** 

'■ '  And  Irish  Nora's  eyes  are  dim 

For  a  singer  dumb  and  gory  ; 
And  Enghsli  Mary  mourns  for  him 
Who  sang  of  Annie  Laurie. 

"  '  Sleep,  soldiers,  in  your  honored  rest, 
Your  truth  and  valor  bearing  ; 
The  bravest  are  the  tenderest, 
The  loving  are  the  daring.' 

"  Perhaps  that 's  a  love  song  the  Germans  are  singing," 
thought  Harry,  as  he  paused  in  repeating  the  lines  of  the 
verses  given  above,  "  and  they  are  acting  over  again  the 
scene  of  the  attack  on  Sebastopol.     I  hope  the  battle  will 


THE  LOST  AjRMT.  197 

turn  out  as  well  for  us  as  did  that  one  for  the  allied  army 
of  the  English  and  French." 

Daybreak  came  and  then  sunrise.  Harry  had  hoped  for 
a  clear  morning,  but  his  hopes  were  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. During  the  previous  day  the  smoke  had  frequently 
hung  thickly  over  the  field,  at  times  rendering  the  com- 
batants invisible  to  each  other  and  greatly  hindering  the 
movements  on  both  sides.  All  through  that  cool  and 
almost  frosty  night  the  smoke  hung  low  over  the  ground, 
and  as  the  sun  rose  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  of  March 
it  pierced  through  a  cloud  that  seemed  more  like  fog  than 
anything  else,  and  was  first  visible  as  a  dull  ball  of  copper, 
on  which  the  youth  could  easily  fix  his  eyes  without  blink- 
ing. The  sun  showed  itself  only  a  short  time  and  then  the 
sky  became  overcast,  and  for  a  while  it  looked  as  though 
the  day  might  be  rainy. 

We  will  now  listen  to  Harry's  account  of  the  last  day's 
fighting. 

"  I  thought  they  would  begin  at  daylight,  and  so  did 
everybody  else ;  or  at  any  rate,  everybody  was  ready  on 
our  side  for  the  opening  of  the  battle.  But  though  we 
could  see  the  rebels  in  strong  force  right  in  front  of  ns, 
and  evidently  as  ready  as  we  were,  there  was  hardly  a  shot 
fired,  except  by  the  skirmishers,  until  after  eight  o'clock. 
They  left  the  opening  of  the  day's  work  to  us,  and  we 
did  n't  go  about  it  till  we  were  '  good  and  ready.' 

"General  Curtis  intended  the  heaviest  of  the  fighting 
for  General  Sigel's  two  divisions,  as  they  had  suffered 
least  on  the  day  before.  The  rebels  had  been  busy  during 
the  night,  and  planted  some  of  their  batteries  on  a  hill 
perhaps  a  hundred  feet  high,  which  sloped  away  to  the 
north,  but  was  quite  steep  on  the  face  toward  us.  It  was 
very  much  such  a  position  as  we  had  at  Sugar  Creek, 
where  the  enemy  wisely  chose  not  to  attack.  Xow  we 
had  no  choice  but  to  attack  them,  and  they  were  prepared 


198  THE  LOST  AEMY. 

for  a  vigorous  defense,  as  they  had  large  masses  of  sup- 
porting infantry  at  the  base  of  the  hill  on  both  sides,  and 
also  several  pieces  of  artillery  scattered  among  the  in- 
fantry. 

"  Under  cover  of  the  woods  at  the  edge  of  the  corn-field 
which  lay  between  us  and  the  enemy,  General  Sigel  planted 
his  batteries  and  drew  up  his  infantry  and  cavalry  where 
they  could  give  efficient  support.  We  wondered  why  the 
rebels  did  not  open  fire  upon  him  while  he  was  getting 
ready,  but  we  learned  afterward  that  they  felt  confident 
of  defeating  him  when  the  actual  fighting  should  begin, 
and  besides  they  were  short  of  artillery  ammunition  and 
wanted  to  make  evei-y  shot  tell.  They  argued  that  if  they 
opened  fire  the  guns  would  be  withdrawn  and  tliey  would 
be  compelled  to  leave  the  place,  where  they  had  so  much 
advantage  of  position,  and  follow  us  wherever  we  drew 
them. 

"  I  stood  where  I  could  see  pretty  much  all  that  was 
going  on  there,  and  it  was  certainly  a  wonderful  picture. 
The  white  and  withered  stalks  of  the  corn  in  the  field 
contrasted  sharply  with  the  dark-blue  coats  of  our  men 
when  they  advanced  from  the  edge  of  the  wood  to  the  open 
ground,  and,  luckily  for  us,  the  smoke  blew  away  a  little 
before  eight  o'  clock  and  gave  us  a  clear  view  across  the 
field.  We  could  easily  make  out  the  rebel  lines  and  the 
positions  of  the  cannon  that  were  ready  to  open  upon  us. 
Our  cannoneers  stood  to  their  guns  and  waited  the  com- 
mand to  open  fire  ;  the  rebel  artillery-men  were  evidently 
doing  the  same  thing,  and  on  both  sides  the  infantry  were 
prepared  for  whatever  was  demanded  of  it. 

"  General  Sigel  gave  the  order,  and  a  dozen  cannon 
fired  very  quickly,  one  after  the  other.  Each  gunner  took 
sight  against  a  tree  on  the  hill  where  the  rebel  batteries 
were  stationed,  and  tried  the  effect  of  his  shot  upon  it. 
The  first  shots  were  too  high,  and  a  turn  of  the  elevating- 


THE  LOST  AR3fY.  199 

screw  depressed  the  muzzle  of  the  gun.  The  second  shot 
was  generally  too  liigh,  though  with  some  it  proved  just 
right ;  but  with  nearly  every  gun  the  third  shot  was 
exactly  the  proper  range.  Then  the  aim  was  taken  at 
the  rebel  guns  that  were  just  beginning  to  fire,  and  for 
nearly  two  hours  there  was  an  artillery  duel,  in  which 
the  infantry  had  little  to  do  but  to  look  on. 

"  Through  their  glasses  the  officers  could  see  that  our 
fire  was  having  terrible  effect.  Several  of  the  rebel  can- 
non were  disabled  and  sent  to  the  rear.  Several  of  our 
guns  were  disabled  and  retired,  and  their  places  promptly 
filled  by  others  ;  but  somehow  the  enemy  did  not  seem  to 
have  a  reserve  to  draw  upon.  Their  fire  slackened,  their 
infantry  seemed  to  be  melting  away,  and  through  the 
smoke  several  of  their  men  ran  across  to  our  lines  and 
surrendered. 

"  This  confirmed  what  had  already  been  reported 
through  our  camp,  that  General  McCulloch  had  been  killed, 
and  also  General  Mcintosh,  one  of  their  best  officers,  and 
formerly  of  the  regular  army.  They  said  they  had  been 
entirely  confident  of  capturing  all  of  us,  but  the  death 
of  these  generals  had  disheartened  a  good  many  of  the 
men  ;  and  they  were  very  short  of  provisions  and  am- 
munition. 

"  We  had  thirty  pieces  of  artillery  playing  on  the  rebels 
at  one  time.  They  could  not  respond  with  so  many,  and 
as  their  artillery  fire  slackened  General  Sigel  suddenly 
ordered  some  of  the  guns  to  change  their  fire  into  the 
ranks  of  the  infantry  and  cavalry  that  were  waiting  on 
the  enemy's  flanks  ready  to  charge  us  when  ordered. 

"  The  shell,  grape  and  canister  tore  great  swaths  in 
the  crowded  ranks  and  piled  up  windrows  of  dead  and 
wounded.  No  troops  except  the  most  stolid  Asiatics 
could  stand  such  a  fire  as  that.  The  cavalry  and  infantry 
melted  away,  and  the  artillery  was  without  support.     A 


200  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

battery  of  three  guns  on  an  open  space  at  one  side  of  the 
hill,  and  near  the  road,  became  troublesome,  and  the  fire 
of  one  of  our  batteries  was  turned  upon  it.  Then,  as  the 
return  fire  slackened,  the  wind  blew  away  the  smoke  and 
revealed  its  exact  position. 

"  '  Send  a  regiment  to  take  that  battery,'  said  General 
Sigel  to  one  of  his  staff. 

"  The  honor  was  given  to  the  Twelfth  Missouri,  and  as 
soon  as  the  order  was  received  away  they  dashed  for  their 
woik.  Across  the  field  they  went  at  full  charge,  losing 
twelve  men  killed  outright  and  more  than  twice  that 
number  wounded,  but  not  once  did  they  halt.  When  the 
rebels  saw  them  coming  they  rallied  several  companies  of 
infantry  to  tlie  support  of  the  battery,  but  too  late  to 
save  it.  The  charge  was  successful  and  the  guns  were 
ours." 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  201 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE      REBELS      DEFEATED END     OF     THE     BATTLE LNDIAN'S 

SCALPING    OUR    SOLDIERS    AND    MUTILATING    THEIR   BODIES. 

"  "While  Sigel's  batteries  had  been  pouring  their  iron 
hail  upon  tlie  hill  which  formed  the  center  of  the  rebel 
position  the  divisions  of  Carr  and  Davis  had  slowly  ad- 
vanced till  they  occupied  the  woods  where  the  rebels  were 
posted  when  the  fight  began.  I  should  have  said  our 
guns  stopped  two  or  three  times,  partly  to  allow  them  to 
cool  and  partly  to  carry  them  forward  to  a  closer  range. 
The  melting  away  of  the  rebel  lines  was  the  last  act  of 
the  battle.  The  order  to  retire  was  given,  and  before 
noon  the  fighting  was  over. 

"  General  Sigel's  command  went  in  pursuit,  while  the 
rest  of  the  army  remained  on  the  field.  The  chase  was 
kept  up  for  twelve  miles  and  then  given  up,  as  the  rebels 
had  a  fair  road  before  them  and  could  push  on  without 
danger,  Avhile  w^e  had  to  be  constantly  on  the  lookout  for 
ambuscades.  General  Sigel  captured  a  good  many  wagons 
with  supplies  and  some  ammunition,  and  his  men  picked 
up  about  a  thousand  stand  of  arms  which  the  fleeing 
rebels  had  thrown  away.  They  were  of  very  little  use, 
as  they  were  mostly  shotguns  and  squirrel-rifles.  The 
best  among  them  were  picked  out  by  the  oflBcers,  to  send 
home  as  trophies  of  the  campaign  and  in  memory  of  the 
battle  we  had  won. 

"  As  soon  as  it  was  certain  that  the  rebels  had  gone  and 
the  field  was  ours  we  set  about  lookins:  after  the  w^ounded. 


202  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

General  Vandever  went  to  the  hill  wliere  the  rebel  bat- 
teries had  been  posted  in  the  morning,  and  took  me  along 
with  him.  Such  a  sight  as  I  saw  there  I  hope  never  to 
see  again. 

"  The  ground  was  covered  with  dead  and  wounded  men, 
the  most  of  them  dead,  as  they  were  struck  down  by  shot 
and  shell  or  by  grape  and  canister.  Some  were  killed  by 
the  falling  limbs  of  trees,  and  one  man  was  crushed  by  the 
weight  of  a  limb  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter  that  had 
fallen  directly  upon  his  shoulders  and  pressed  him  to  the 
ground.  One  tree  had  been  pierced  through  from  side  to 
side  by  a  solid  shot ;  its  top  was  shivered  by  a  shell,  and 
its  trunk  was  pierced  by  a  dozen  or  more  canister-balls. 
Here  lay  the  fragments  of  a  battery- wagon  that  had  been 
blown  up,  and  not  far  off  were  five  artillery  wheels. 
Three  mules  lay  dead  by  the  side  of  the  broken  wagons, 
and  one  of  them  was  so  torn  by  the  explosion  that  little 
more  than  the  general  shape  of  the  animal  remained. 

"  In  a  space  thirty  feet  square  I  counted  seven  dead 
men  and  three  wounded  ones,  one  of  the  latter  just  gasp- 
ing his  last.  A  little  further  on  there  were  fifteen 
wounded  rebels,  all  begging  and  imploring  for  water.  I 
gave  them  all  my  canteen  contained,  and  so  did  the  rest 
of  the  party,  and  the  general  sent  me  oft'  for  more.  As  I 
turned  my  horse  to  ride  away  he  jumped  aside  to  avoid 
stepping  on  a  prostrate  man  whose  arm  had  been  torn  off 
by  a  cannon-shot,  and  as  he  jumped  he  almost  trod  on 
another  whose  leg  had  been  shattered.  Close  by  a  tree 
was  a  dead  man  whose  head  had  l)een  blown  off  by  a 
shell,  and  by  his  side  was  another  dead  man  whose  breast 
was  pierced  by  a  grapeshot.  A  letter  had  fallen  from 
his  pocket,  and  I  sprang  to  the  ground  and  picked  it  up, 
intending  to  read  it  later. 

"  The  letter  was  addressed  to  Pleasant  J.  Williams, 
Churchill's  regiment,  Fayettevil'.e,  Ark. ;  it  was  from  a  girl 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  203 

in  Kentucky,  to  whom  Williams  was  evidently  engaged, 
if  I  may  judge  by  the  tenor  of  the  document.  I  shall 
keep  it  in  the  hope  of  some  day  being  able  to  return  it  to 
the  writer.  She  was  an  ardent  rebel,  but  evidently  a  very 
sweet  and  loving  young  woman,  though,  unfortunately, 
she  does  not  inclose  her  photograph. 

"  I  went  for  the  water  as  fast  as  I  could,  and  wondered 
how  I  was  to  bring  it,  as  I  had  but  a  single  canteen.  On 
the  way  1  passed  through  the  camp,  and  when  I  told  a 
captain  of  the  Third  Illinois  cavalry  the  object  of  my 
mission,  he  detailed  four  men  to  go  with  me,  and  told  them 
to  gatlier  up  a  dozen  canteens  to  carry  water  to  the  wounded 
men.  Tired  as  the  men  and  their  horses  were,  the  soldiers 
went  eagerly  on  their  errand  of  mercy,  and  it  almost 
made  me  cry  to  see  how  tenderly  they  cared  for  the  poor 
fellows  who  were  so  lately  their  enemies.  Curious  thing, 
this  business  of  making  war!  Soldiers  try  their  very 
best  to  kill  each  other,  but  when  the  fighting  is  over  they 
do  all  they  can  to  help  the  very  men  they  shot  down  only 
a  little  while  before. 

"  Before  I  got  back  to  the  hill  where  the  wounded  men 
were  lying  a  rebel  surgeon  had  arrived  with  a  flag  of 
truce,  and  was  doing  all  he  could  for  the  sufferers.  But 
several  were  so  badly  hurt  that  they  could  n't  be  saved, 
and  one  of  them  died  within  two  minutes  after  swallow- 
ing a  draught  of  water  I  gave  him. 

"A  horrible  thing  happened  here  close  to  this  hill. 
The  bursting  of  shells,  or  some  burning  wads,  had  set  fire 
to  the  dry  leaves  that  covered  the  ground,  and  the  woods 
were  burning  in  every  direction.  We  tried  to  remove  the 
wounded  before  the  fire  reached  them,  and  thought  we 
had  got  them  all  away ;  afterward  some  were  found  in 
secluded  spots,  and  though  still  alive,  they  had  been 
terribly  burned  and  blackened  by  the  fire  among  the 
leaves  and  fallen  brushwood.    One  poor  fellow  had  crawled 


204  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

close  to  a  dry  log  that  was  set  on  fire  by  the  burning 
leaves,  and  was  so  badly  burned  that  he  died  soon  after 
being  found.  The  doctors  said  his  wounds  were  so  severe 
that  it  is  doubtful  if  he  could  have  lived  even  if  the  fire 
had  not  reached  him. 

"  We  had  repeatedly  heard  that  the  rebels  were  very 
badly  supplied  with  shoes,  and  there  was  proof  of  the 
truth  of  this  statement  in  the  way  they  stripped  the  shoes 
from  the  feet  of  dead  and  mortally-wounded  men,  no  mat- 
ter to  which  side  they  belonged.  Not  one  corpse  in 
twenty  of  all  that  I  saw  on  the  l)attlefield  had  shoes  on 
its  feet.  In  some  cases  pantaloons  and  coats  were  removed, 
but  such  instances  were  not  numerous,  the  great  need  of 
the  rebels  seeming  to  be  in  the  line  of  shoes.  Of  course, 
the  clothing  of  our  soldiers  would  hardly  be  desired  by  the 
rebels,  as  it  would  be  dangerous  for  them  to  wear,  and 
they  have  no  ready  means  of  changing  its  color. 

"The  general  told  me  to  look  for  him  at  Elkhorn 
Tavern  as  soon  as  I  had  carried  out  the  order  about  taking 
water  to  the  wounded  rebels,  and  I  did  so.  On  the  way 
I  passed  the  spot  where  a  captain  of  a  rebel  battery  was 
killed  near  the  close  of  the  battle,  his  head  having  been 
carried  away  by  one  of  our  cannon-shot.  They  said  his 
name  was  Churchill  Clark,  and  that  he  was  the  son  of  a 
prominent  politician  well  known  in  the  state  of  Missouri. 
Young  Clark  was  educated  at  the  military  academy  at 
West  Point,  and  was  said  to  be  a  splendid  officer.  He 
turned  against  the  government  the  advantages  of  the  educa- 
tion he  had  received  at  its  expense.  He  was  carried  away 
by  the  idea  that  the  right  of  the  state  was  paramount  to 
the  right  of  the  nation,  and  this  is  the  end  of  states- 
rights  for  him — killed  in  battle  at  Pea  Ridge. 

"  But  if  the  battlefield  was  horrible,  the  scene  at  Elk- 
horn  was  worse.  Dead  and  wounded  men  were  lying  all 
about,  the  house  was  filled  with  wounded,  and  every  few 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  205 

minutes  a  corpse  was  brought  out  to  make  room  for  a 
man  whom  the  surgeons  hoped  to  save.  Blood  was  every- 
where, and  the  sight  was  a  sickening  one.  All  the  medical 
men  were  busy  as  they  could  be,  and  with  the  hardest 
work  they  were  not  able  to  give  much  attention  to  each 
individual  case. 

"  The  next  morning  the  general  sent  me  to  Elkhorn 
with  a  message  to  one  of  the  surgeons.  Outside  of  the 
building  was  a  row  of  corpses  of  officers  and  men  mingled 
indiscriminately,  most  of  them  having  died  during  the 
night  from  the  effect  of  their  wounds  or  after  amputation 
of  limbs.  Several  legs  and  arms  that  had  been  cut  off, 
were  lying  on  the  ground,  some  of  the  legs  having  the 
stocking  and  perhaps  a  portion  of  the  pantaloons  still  in 
place. 

"  The  attendants  were  busy  removing  the  corpses  and 
carrying  them  to  a  place  of  burial.  Each  was  covered 
with  a  blanket,  and  officers  and  men  were  moving  among 
them,  raising  the  blanket  coverings  one  after  the  other, 
in  order  to  find  some  missing  individual.     '  That 's  Captain 

,'  said  one  of  the  officers,  as  he  turned  down  a  blanket 

and  revealed  a  face  and  the  double-barred  shoulder-straps 
which  indicated  the  rank  of  the  wearer.     'That's  private 

,  of  Co.  B,'  or  '  that's  Sergeant ,  of regiment,' 

were  the  remarks  of  the  attendants  as  they  went  steadily 
on  with  their  work.  Here  sat  a  soldier  who  was  crying 
bitterly,  as  he  had  just  discovered  the  body  of  his  brother 
among  the  dead.  The  surgeons  and  their  aids  gave  him 
no  attention  ;  in  fact,  they  were  quite  regardless  of  any- 
thing except  the  wounded  whom  they  were  trying  to  save. 

"  Details  were  sent  out  to  look  carefully  over  the  ground 
where  the  battle  was  fought,  in  order  to  bring  in  the 
wounded  and  bury  the  dead.  The  work  of  humanity  was 
rapidly  performed,  and  before  night  all  the  dead  had  been 
laid  to  their  rest,  and  all  the  wounded,  except  a  few  who 


206  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

were  not  discovered  until  afterwards,  were  relieved  as 
far  as  possible.  The  dead,  where  they  lay  thickly,  were 
buried  in  trenches  containing  ten  and  in  some  cases 
twelve  or  fifteen  corpses,  but  in  most  cases  they  were 
buried  singly  or  by  two's  and  three's.  Most  of  those  who 
fell  at  Pea  Ilidge  found  their  graves  where  they  lay,  and 
there  they  will  sleep  undisturbed  through  all  the  rest  of 
this  war  that  is  convulsing  the  country  and  threatening 
the  existence  of  a  nation  which  was  founded  as  the  home 
of  universal  liberty. 

"  From  the  hospital  I  carried  a  message  to  Colonel 
Bussey,  of  the  Third  Iowa  Cavalry,  who  had  returned 
from  pursuing  the  rebels  as  far  as  Bentonville,  and  was 
just  then  in  that  part  of  the  field  where  his  regiment 
made  a  charge  upon  the  combined  white  and  Indian  troops 
of  General  Pike,  and  was  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  several 
men.  It  afterward,  as  I  have  said  elsewhere,  rallied  and 
defeated  the  rebels,  recapturing  three  guns  of  a  battery 
which  had  been  temporarily  lost. 

"  The  rebels  may  deny  as  much  as  they  please  that  the 
Indians  scalped  their  fallen  foes,  but  here  was  the  evidence 
that  they  did  it.  Eight  men  of  Colonel  Bussey's  cavalry 
were  killed  in  the  charge,  and  the  Indians  occupied  the 
ground  immediately  and  took  off  the  scalps  of  those  eight 
men  and  otherwise  mutilated  their  bodies.  Some  of  the 
bodies  indicated  that  the  men  were  only  wounded  and  not 
dead  when  the  Indians  came  into  possession  of  them  by 
the  repulse  of  the  cavalry,  but  the  scoundrels  quickly 
dispatched  them  with  the  tomahawk.  Marks  of  the 
tomahawk,  or  some  weapon  like  it,  were  plainly  visible  on 
several  bodies,  and  the  surgeons  who  examined  the  gun- 
shot wounds  on  some  of  the  bodies  declared  that  they 
were  not  sufficient  to  cause  death. 

"Colonel  Bussey  and  several  of  his  officers  and  men 
have  made  oath  to  the  evidences  of  the  use  of  the  toma- 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  207 

hawk  and  scalping-knife  by  the  Indian  alhes  of  the 
rebels,  and  the  documents  will  be  placed  on  record.  It  is 
probable  that  more  than  this  number  were  scalped,  as 
several  bodies  were  buried  before  an  investigation  was 
thought  of,  but  about  these  eight  there  can  be  no  mistake. 
We  hope  the  rebels  are  proud  of  these  murderous  savages, 
who  may  yet  turn  upon  them  in  their  frenzy  when  least 
expected  to  do  so.  A  few  of  the  Indians  were  captured, 
and  if  our  men  had  not  been  restrained  by  their  officers 
they  would  have  hanged  or  shot  the  rascals.  General 
Curtis  has  allowed  all  the  rebel  surgeons  to  come  and  go 
freely  under  parole,  with  the  exception  of  the  surgeon  of 
an  Indian  regiment ;  him  the  general  is  keeping  a  close 
prisoner,  and  will  send  under  guard  to  St.  Louis." 

The  rebels  disappeared  so  suddenly  from  the  battlefield 
that  the  union  commanders  could  not  make  out  where 
they  had  gone.  General  Sigel  went  after  them  in  one 
direction  and  Colonel  Bussey  in  another,  but  could  not 
overtake  them,  and  the  pursuit  was  soon  given  up.  It 
seems  they  turned  off  through  several  hollows  and  ravines, 
taking  obscure  roads,  and  finally  reuniting  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bentonville,  where  they  camped  for  the  night. 
A  good  many  of  them  continued  along  the  road  without 
halting,  determined  to  get  a  safe  distance  between  them- 
selves and  the  terrible  Yankees.  Previous  to  the  battle 
the  oflBcers  had  spread  the  most  startling  stories  about 
northern  atrocities  to  prisoners,  with  the  object  of  nerving 
the  men  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  courage. 

On  this  subject  let  us  listen  to  Jack,  whom  Ave  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  who  was  carried  away  by 
them  in  their  retreat. 

"  The  night  after  they  captured  the  colonel,  and  took 
me  along  with  him,"  said  Jack,  "  we  had  a  hard  old  time 
of  it.  We  had  very  little  to  eat,  and  nothing  but  our  clothes 
to  sleep  in.     We  were  no  worse  off  than  the  officers  and 


208  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

men  around  us,  as  there  were  a  good  many  of  them  that 
had  n't  any  blankets,  and  nearly  all  were  ragged  and  fear- 
fully out  at  the  elbows.  Each  man  had  for  his  rations  a 
piece  of  corn-bread  as  dry  as  a  stone  and  nearly  as  hard, 
and  some  of  them  had  nothing  more  than  an  ear  or  two 
of  corn,  that  they  chewed  on  as  though  they  were  horses. 
One  of  the  doctors  dressed  Colonel  Herron's  wounded  leg. 
He  could  n't  stand  on  it,  and  when  he  wanted  to  move 
around  I  helped  him  on  one  side  and  one  of  the  hospital 
attendants  on  the  other.  They  put  him  in  an  ambulance 
along  with  one  of  their  own  wounded  ofiBcers  and  started 
us  off  on  the  road  to  Bentonville,  and  there  we  stayed 
through  the  night.  Probably  they  would  have  sent  us 
further  if  they  'd  known  how  the  next  day's  battle  was 
coming  out. 

"  They  were  going  to  send  me  off  with  the  soldiers,  but 
Colonel  Ilerron  asked  to  be  permitted  to  keep  me  as  a 
personal  attendant.  He  offered  to  give  his  parole  and  be- 
come responsible  that  I  would  not  escape,  the  same  as  he 
had  done  when  we  were  first  captured,  and  this  they  ac- 
cepted after  a  little  palaver.  At  one  time  I  thought  they 
wouldn't  do  it,  and  began  to  think  I  'd  have  to  trudge  along 
the  road  with  the  soldiers.  And  I  think  I  owe  my  good 
fortune  to  an  old  friend ;  at  least  I  '11  call  him  so,  as  he 
acted  like  a  friend,  though  he  had  no  reason  to  remember 
me  kindly. 

"  You  remember  the  captain  we  helped  to  capture  near 
Rolla  when  we  went  on  our  scouting  expedition  on  foot  ?  " 

*'  Certainly,"  replied  Harry  ;  "  I  remember  him  well." 

"  He  was  the  man  that  befriended  me,"  said  Jack,  "  and 
he  did  it  just  at  the  right  time,  too.  He  was  one  of  the 
officers  that  was  debating  whether  to  do  as  the  colonel 
wanted,  and  let  me  go  with  him,  and  while  they  were 
talking  a  little  way  oft"  from  us  he  kept  eying  me  all 
over.    After  a  while  he  came  up  to  me  and  said  : 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  209 

" '  Are  you  one  of  the  boys  that  was  out  one  day  on  the 
road  from  Rolla  to  Pilot  Knob,  and  found  out  where  a 
captam  had  a  recruiting  camp  ? ' 

"  I  turned  all  sorts  of  colors,  I  know,  and  while  I  was 
trying  to  stammer  out  something  to  convince  him  I  was  n't 
the  boy  he  was  looking  for  he  nodded  his  head  in  a  satis- 
fied sort  of  way. 

"I  thought  my  case  was  done  for  and  he  'd  have  me 
shot  sure,  but  he  only  laughed  and  said  I  was  made  of 
good  stuff  and  had  '  got  the  sand,'  whatever  that  was. 
Then  he  went  back  and  talked  with  the  others,  and  after 
a  few  minutes  he  came  to  me  and  said  he  would  be  re- 
sponsible for  me. 

"  My  heart  went  down  in  my  boots  at  this,  but  he  did  n't 
let  it  stay  there  long.  '  You  're  all  right,'  said  he,  '  and 
you  may  go  with  your  colonel.  But,  first,  you  must  give 
me  your  solemn  word  of  honor  that  you  won't  try  to  es- 
cape as  long  as  you  are  allowed  to  be  with  him.' 

"  I  gave  my  word  of  honor  and  signed  a  parole  which 
he  wrote  out,  and  then  he  said  he  thought  he  could  trust 
me.  '  You  caught  me  once,'  said  he,  '  but  you  were  n't 
under  any  parole,  and  I  had  no  business  to  talk  with  you 
as  I  did.  You  boys  did  a  smart  thing,  and  just  the  kind 
of  thing  I  believe  in,  and  as  long  as  you  're  in  my  hands 
I  '11  look  out  for  you.  And  I  '11  look  out  for  you,  too,'  he 
added,  dropping  his  voice,  '  if  you  try  any  Yankee  tricks 
on  me  now  that  you  're  under  parole.' 

"  I  repeated  my  promise,  and  felt  relieved  at  the  way  he 
acted  toward  me.  Then  he  hurried  a  man  off  and  got 
something  for  us  to  eat.  It  was  n't  much,  only  a  slice  of 
corn-bread  and  a  piece  of  bacon  for  me,  and  a  tin  cupful  of 
tea  and  some  more  bacon  and  bread  for  the  colonel.  He 
told  me  to  stay  by  the  ambulance,  where  the  colonel  was, 
and  said  I  could  ride  with  the  driver,  except  when  they 
were  going  up-hill,  where  I  must  get  off  and  walk." 
14 


210  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

jack's    experiences  as    a    prisoner REBEL    SOLDIERS' 

OPINIONS. 

"  To  judge  by  the  number  of  times  I  had  to  get  ofif  and 
walk,"  continued  Jack,  "  it  was  up-hill  pretty  nearly  all 
the  way  to  Fayetteville.  A  wounded  major  of  the  rebel 
army  was  put  in  the  ambulance  alongside  of  Colonel 
Ilerron,  and  when  we  got  to  Fayetteville  I  had  to  give  up 
my  place  to  a  rebel  captain  who  had  been  shot  in  the  arm. 
Of  course  I  couldn't  complain  at  this,  and  thought  my- 
self lucky  to  have  been  allowed  to  ride  so  far  as  I  did  ride. 
I  had  to  walk  the  rest  of  the  way,  and  though  I  was  young 
and  strong,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  keep  up  with  the 
ambulance  when  they  had  a  good  road.  But  as  most  of 
the  road  was  bad  and  a  good  deal  blocked  by  wagons, 
I  managed  to  be  along  with  the  ambulance  every  night 
and  two  or  three  times  generally  during  the  day.  It  was 
lucky  for  me  that  the  ambulance  horses  were  pretty  well 
tired  out  with  overwork  and  poor  feed,  and  at  one  time 
the  driver  was  afraid  he  would  n't  be  able  to  get  them 
through  to  Van  Buren,  where  we  had  been  ordered 
to  go. 

"  There  were  six  men  on  horseback  who  rode  along  with 
the  ambulance,  to  make  sure  that  we  did  n't  get  away. 
Our  captors  were  evidently  mindful  of  the  old  motto, 
'  Fast  bind,  fast  find,'  and  they  had  us  not  only  on  our 
parole,  but  under  guard.  When  it  was  found  that  I  had 
to  walk  I  was  put  with  half-a-dozen  other  prisoners  in 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  211 

charge  of  two  of  the  mounted  men.  They  were  rather 
surly  at  first,  but  after  a  while  we  got  on  good  terms 
with  them  by  helping  them  to  pick  up  forage  for  their 
horses,  of  which  they  were  in  great  need.  There  was  n't 
much  to  be  picked  up,  as  the  country  had  been  pretty 
thoroughly  cleaned  out  by  the  army  in  its  advance  to  at- 
tack us,  and  in  the  previous  retreat  when  we  first  came 
into  the  state. 

"  The  road  over  the  Boston  mountains  is  a  rough  one, 
and  the  wagons  could  n't  get  along  there  any  faster  than 
men  on  foot ;  they  had  to  go  slow  to  avoid  breaking  axles 
and  smashing  A^heels,  and  all  along  the  road  there  were 
dozens  of  wagons  that  had  broken  down  and  been  aban- 
doned. Soon  after  we  left  Fayetteville  the  news  came 
that  the  army  had  been  defeated  and  was  falling  back, 
but  this  was  treated  as  a  rumor  at  first,  and  our  rebel 
guards  laughed  at  it  as  absurd.  A  few  hours  later  some 
mounted  men  came  along  carrying  dispatches  to  Fort 
Smith,  and  then  we  heard  positively  that  our  side  had  won 
and  the  rebels  were  really  falling  back. 

"I  wanted  to  raise  a  cheer,  but  thought  it  would  not  be 
wise  to  do  so,  as  our  guards  might  make  it  harder  for  us 
if  we  made  any  sort  of  a  demonstration.  I  passed  the 
word  among  the  rest,  and  we  agreed  to  pretend  that  it 
could  n't  be  so,  as  our  army  Mas  so  much  smaller  than 
theirs  and  we  had  used  up  nearly  all  our  amnnmition  at 
the  time  we  were  captured.  We  consoled  ourselves  with 
the  reflection  that  we  should  probably  be  exchanged 
before  long,  as  we  ought  to  have  prisoners  enough  in  our 
hands  to  make  an  even  trade. 

"  We  camped  as  soon  as  night  came  on,  and  I  had  no 
trouble  in  finding  the  colonel's  ambulance  and  giving  him 
all  the  help  and  comfort  that  I  could.  His  wounded  leg 
pained  him  a  good  deal,  and  the  rebel  surgeon  said  it 
would  be  better  if  it  could  be  bathed  in  cold  water. 


212  THE  LOST  AEMY. 

"  I  went  at  work  at  once  and  bathed  the  swollen  part  so 
that  it  visibly  went  down,  and  the  pain  was  much  less. 
I  was  at  it  for  a  full  hour,  and  then  the  colonel  made  me 
lie  down  and  sleep,  as  he  would  n't  hear  of  my  being  up 
all  night.  I  slept  as  sound  as  a  log,  but  was  up  before 
daylight  to  give  the  leg  another  bath  before  we  started. 
My  friend,  the  rebel  captain,  came  around  while  I  was  at 
work  and  said  I  seemed  so  handy  that  he  reckoned  they 
would  keep  me  as  a  hospital  attendant,  and  not  send  me 
back  in  exchange  if  they  made  any.  I  told  him  I  did  n't 
want  to  go  back  until  the  colonel  did,  and  I  was  perfectly 
willing  to  be  a  hospital  attendant  as  long  as  I  could  be 
with  him. 

"  All  along  the  road  there  was  great  curiosity  to  look 
at  the  Yankee  prisoners  and  see  what  they  were  like. 
By  the  way  some  of  the  people  stared  at  us,  they  must 
have  expected  to  see  some  horrid  monsters,  and  were 
really  surprised  to  find  that  we  were  human  beings. 
Some  of  them  abused  us,  and  others  looked  on  in  silence, 
as  they  might  have  looked  at  an  elephant  or  a  five-legged 
calf.  At  one  house,  where  we  stopped  to  get  a  drink  of 
water,  a  woman  came  out  and  lashed  her  tongue  in  a  fit 
of  rage  at  the  '  Yankee  cut-throats,'  as  she  called  us. 
She  hoped  we  would  all  be  hanged  as  soon  as  we  got  to 
Fort  Smith,  and  if  she  had  her  way  we  should  be  strung 
up  then  and  there. 

"  Poor  creature  !  I  did  not  blame  her  so  much,  as  she 
had  been  told  the  most  awful  stories  of  what  the  Yankees 
did  wherever  they  got  possession  of  the  country.  All 
the  atrocities  ever  committed  by  savages  were  attributed 
to  us,  together  with  some  that  no  savages  ever  thought 
of.  One  of  our  guards  told  us  that  he  had  heard  of  our 
putting  fifty  prisoners  in  a  log-house,  having  bound  them 
liand  and  foot,  and  piled  them  up  as  though  they  had  been 
so  many  sticks  of  wood.     Then  we  piled  shavings  and 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  213 

straw  on  them  till  the  house  was  filled  with  it,  and 
after  this  was  done  we  set  the  straw  on  fire.  The 
house  and  all  the  prisoners  were  consumed,  as  a  matter 
of  course.  In  another  case  we  tied  prisoners  to  trees 
and  used  them  as  targets  for  our  infantry  soldiers  to 
practice  upon  when  learning  how  to  handle  fire-arms. 

"  Of  course  the  leaders  knew  better  than  this,  but  the 
stories  were  intended  for  the  ignorant  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple, to  excite  them  to  rush  to  the  defense  of  the  imperiled 
South  and  save  their  homes  from  the  desecration  and 
destruction  that  they  said  would  be  certain  if  the  Yankees 
once  obtained  possession  of  the  country.  But  in  one  way 
they  were  '  hoist  by  their  own  petard,'  to  use  an  old 
phrase,  as  the  fear  of  what  might  happen  to  them  in  case 
of  capture  caused  many  of  the  rebel  soldiers  at  Pea  Ridge 
to  run  away  rather  than  face  the  terrible  Yankees.  From 
what  the  soldiers  said,  I  'm  certain  that  this  is  what 
caused  several  regiments  to  break  and  run  after  they  had 
fired  only  a  few  rounds  from  their  shotguns  and  squirrel- 
rifles. 

"If  this  were  a  place  for  moralizing,  I  would  say  that 
lying  never  pays,  whether  by  wholesale  or  retail.  The 
rebel  leaders  in  Arkansas  found  it  out  before  the  end  of 
the  second  year  of  the  war. 

"  We  got  to  Van  Buren,  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Arkansas  river,  three  days  after  leaving  Bentonville,  and 
were  pretty  well  used  up  by  the  time  they  brought  us  to 
a  halt.  The  colonel  was  sent  to  the  military  hospital, 
which  was  in  some  wooden  barracks  just  outside  the 
town,  and  I  was  allowed  to  go  with  him  as  his  personal 
attendant,  on  the  same  conditions  as  before.  I  ought  to 
say  that  on  the  closing  day  of  the  journey  I  got  my  old 
place  on  the  seat  by  the  driver  for  the  last  five  or  six 
hours,  the  wounded  captain  having  stopped  in  a  house 
where  he  had  friends  who  would  take  care  of  him  until 


214  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

his  arm  was  well  enough  to  allow  him  to  return  to  his 
regiment. 

"  There  was  plenty  of  room  in  the  hospital  when  we 
got  there,  but  the  wounded  came  in  fast,  and  within  two 
days  it  was  crowded  full.  I  made  myself  as  useful  as  I 
could,  and  soon  got  into  the  good  graces  of  the  surgeons, 
by  helping  them  to  dress  wounds  and  do  anything  else 
that  came  in  my  way.  I  was  about  the  hospital  during  the 
day,  and  could  come  and  go  as  I  liked,  only  I  was  under 
parole  not  to  go  outside  the  building  and  the  one  adjoin- 
ing it.  At  night  I  slept  in  a  sort  of  a  guard-room  at  one 
end  of  the  building,  but  there  was  n't  much  of  a  guard 
there,  and  I  might  have  run  away  without  any  trouble  if 
it  had  not  been  for  my  parole  not  to  do  so.  It  is  just 
possible,  however,  that  I  was  watched  in  a  way  I  was  not 
aware  of,  and  my  old  friend  may  have  '  looked  out  for  me,' 
as  he  promised  to  do. 

"The  army  followed  closely  after  us,  and  there  was  no 
doubt  of  the  defeat  and  retreat  of  the  rebels.  The  sol- 
diers were  very  much  disappointed  and  disheartened,  and 
if  they  could  have  got  away  without  rendering  themselves 
liable  to  be  shot  for  desertion,  I  'm  sure  that  half  of  them 
would  have  gone  within  two  days  after  they  got  back  to 
camp.  As  it  was,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  straggling, 
and  I  heard  an  officer  say  they  had  lost  not  less  than 
five  thousand  men  in  one  way  and  another  by  the  cam- 
paign to  Pea  Ridge  and  back  again. 

"  By  the  fourteenth  the  whole  army,  such  of  it  as  held 
together,  had  come  in  and  was  encamped  around  Van 
Buren.  Some  of  the  regiments  were  ferried  over  the  river 
to  Fort  Smith,  but  the  most  of  the  troops  remained  on 
the  north  bank.  I  did  n't  have  much  chance  to  see  them, 
as  I  was  kept  in  the  limits  of  the  hospital,  but  so  far  as  I 
could  observe  they  were  a  forlorn-looking  lot. 

"  Only  a  few  regiments  wore  the  gray  uniforms  of  the 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  215 

Confederacy,  the  greater  number  of  the  men  being  clad  in 
the  ordinary  Iiome-spun  cloth  of  the  country  familiarly 
known  as  'butternut.'  During  the  Pea  Ridge  campaign 
they  had  been  very  poorly  fed — some  of  them  going  for 
thirty  or  forty  hours  during  the  retreat  without  a  morsel 
of  food  other  than  a  few  grains  of  corn ;  raw  turnips  and 
carrots  had  been  considered  a  luxury,  and  the  men  who 
secured  them  were  envied.  Raw  cabbages  were  eagerly 
devoured,  but  unfortunately  the  country  was  not  stocked 
with  these  products  of  the  soil,  or  the  troops  might  have 
been  better  fed." 


216  1HE  LOST  ABMY. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

jack's     diplomacy HIS     RETURN     TO     CAMP — A    NEW   MOVE. 

General  Curtis  remained  a  few  days  in  the  camp  near 
where  the  battle  was  fought,  and  then,  as  the  country 
around  was  exhausted  of  suppHes,  he  drew  back  a  few 
miles  to  Keitsville,  Missouri ;  but  not  until  he  had  posi- 
tively ascertained  that  the  rebel  army  had  retired  to  Fort 
Smith  and  Van  Buren,  on  the  line  of  the  Arkansas  river. 

A  day  or  two  after  the  battle  negotiations  were  begun 
for  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  Both  the  commanders 
were  favorable  to  the  exchange,  as  they  were  so  hard 
pressed  for  supplies  that  the  prisoners  on  their  hands 
were  burdensome  in  the  way  of  devouring  rations,  and, 
besides,  they  required  a  strong  guard  to  hold  them  se- 
curely. Each  side  wanted  its  men  back  under  their  own 
colors,  and  as  the  number  of  prisoners  was  about  equal 
the  exchange  was  speedily  arranged. 

Colonel  Hebart,  of  the  Third  Louisiana,  was  a  prisoner 
in  General  Curtis's  hands,  and  was  traded  off  for  Colonel 
Herron,  and  each  army  thus  secured  the  return  of  an 
honored  officer.  There  was  some  delay  in  arranging  the 
exchange  of  the  men  of  the  rank  and  file,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  this  it  looked  as  though  Jack  would  have  to 
remain  behind  when  Colonel  Herron  started  from  Van 
Buren  for  the  Union  camp. 

Jack  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  when  he  learned 
that  the  colonel  had  been  exchanged  and  was  to  start  on 
the  following  morning,  he  devised  a  plan,  which  he  un- 


TBE  LOST  ARMY.  217 

folded  as  follows  to  his  friend,  the  rebel  captain,  already- 
mentioned  : 

"  It 's  clear  the  colonel  can't  walk  or  can't  ride  on  horse- 
back. He 's  got  to  be  carried  in  an  ambulance  or  a 
wagon." 

The  captain  admitted  that  this  was  the  case. 

"He's  to  go  in  an  ambulance,"  said  the  captain,  "and 

I  'm  to  accompany  him  on  horseback.     Dr. will  go 

along,  too,  to  take  care  of  the  colonel's  leg." 

"I  'm  glad  of  that,"  said  Jack;  "but  who'll  drive  the 
ambulance  ?  " 

"One  of  the  drivers,  I  suppose,"  replied  the  captain. 

"Now,  there's  just  where  I  can  come  in,"  said  the  per- 
sistent youth. 

"  How  so  ?  " 

"  Why,  don't  you  see.  Captain  ?  Let  me  drive  the  am- 
bulance.    I  can  do  it  just  as  well  as  anybody  else." 

The  officer  shook  his  head  with  an  emphasis  that  indi- 
cated the  proposal  to  be  sometliing  quite  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary run  of  tilings,  and  not  to  be  entertained.  But  Jack 
was  not  to  be  put  off  thus. 

"  I  ask  it  as  a  great  favor.  Captain,"  said  he,  "  and  I  '11 
be  sure  to  return  it  with  interest  one  of  these  days.  Let 
me  drive  the  ambulance,  and  when  it  gets  to  our  lines 
we  '11  have  one  of  your  men  drive  it  back,  and  it  will 
bring  some  wounded  officer  along,  if  there 's  one  to  bring. 
It  will  be  in  your  charge  and  protected  by  the  flag  of 
truce,  and  you  '11  save  having  one  of  your  drivers  go  up  to 
our  camp  and  back  again." 

Viewed  in  this  light,  the  proposal  did  not  seem  so  very 
far  out  of  the  way,  and  as  it  met  the  wishes  of  Colonel 
Herron,  who  was  highly  popular  among  the  rebel  officers 
with  whom  he  had  been  brought  in  contact  by  reason  of 
his  amiability  and  courtesy  of  manner,  the  matter  was 
speedily  arranged.    The  ambulance  started  at  the  time 


218  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

appointed,  and  Jack  handled  the  reins  as  though  he  had 
been  bred  to  tlie  business  and  intended  to  be  at  tlie  liead 
of  it  before  very  long.  The  fact  is,  no  great  handling  was 
necessary,  as  the  horses  were  not  at  all  fiery  in  their  nat- 
ures, and  had  been  very  much  reduced  in  flesh  by  the 
experiences  of  the  campaign. 

There  were  no  adventures  of  consequence  on  the  jour- 
ney, the  presence  of  the  captain  and  the  white  flag  that 
fluttered  in  front  of  the  vehicle  being  sufficient  to  protect 
it  from  any  kind  of  molestation.  The  colonel  suffered 
considerably  with  the  jolting  of  the  ambulance,  and  more 
than  once  he  half  wished  he  had  remained  in  captivity 
long  enough  to  allow  the  wound  to  heal.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  was  elated  at  the  prospect  of  soon  being 
among  his  own  friends,  and  you  can  be  sure  he  was  re- 
ceived with  open  arms  by  his  fellow-officers. 

As  for  Jack,  he  was  a  person  of  great  consequence  when 
he  returned  to  camp  and  told  the  story  of  his  adventures 
among  the  rebels.  His  first  thought  was  for  Harry,  whom 
he  hunted  up  with  the  least  possible  delay.  In  fact,  the 
two  youths  were  hunting  for  each  other,  as  Harry  had 
heard  of  Jack's  return  with  Colonel  Herron  from  a  soldier 
who  had  seen  the  flag  of  truce  on  its  way  to  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Curtis  and  recognized  Jack  as  the 
driver  of  the  vehicle. 

Leave  of  absence  was  granted  to  Colonel  Herron,  and  he 
returned  to  St.  Louis  and  thence  to  his  home  in  Iowa, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  restored  to  health.  As 
soon  as  he  could  do  so  he  went  into  active  service  again, 
and  long  before  the  end  of  the  war  his  uniform  was  adorned 
with  the  double  stars  of  a  major-general.  But  he  never 
forgot  his  experiences  in  captivity  after  Pea  Ridge,  nor 
the  devotion  of  Jack  through  all  those  days  of  suffering. 

Jack  offered  to  go  with  him  as  far  as  Rolla,  or  even  to 
Iowa,  if  he  desired ;  but  as  the  colonel  had  his  own  serv- 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  219 

ant  with  him,  and  was  to  be  accompanied  by  one  of  the 
newspaper  correspondents,  who  was  returning  to  St.  Louis, 
he  declined  the  offer,  as  he  readily  divined  that  the  youth 
had  no  desire  to  go  home  just  then.  In  spite  of  their 
numerous  experiences,  both  Harry  and  Jack  thirsted  for 
more,  their  appetites  having  been  sharpened  rather  than 
dulled  by  what  they  had  gone  through. 

"  Wonder  what  we  '11  do  now  ?  "  said  Harry  one  morn- 
ing as  they  were  strolling  about  the  camp. 

"  That 's  for  the  general  to  say,"  replied  Jack,  "  and  the 
most  we  can  do  on  the  subject  is  to  guess." 

"  Well,  here  's  for  a  guess,"  said  Harry,  and  the  pair 
sat  down  for  a  council  of  war  on  their  own  account. 

"  From  several  things  that  were  dropped  in  my  hear- 
ing," said  Jack,  "  while  I  was  at  Van  Buren,  I  should  n't 
wonder  if  the  most  of  Van  Corn's  army  was  sent  off  to 
the  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  join  the  rebel  forces  in  Ten- 
nessee. This  will  leave  Arkansas  with  no  army  large 
enough  to  oppose  us,  and  so  we  can  go  where  we  please." 

"  That  may  be  so,"  said  Harry,  musingly ;  "  but  where 's 
all  our  supplies  to  come  from  ?  We  're  a  long  way  from 
Rolla  now,  and  if  we  get  down  into  the  interior  of  Ar- 
kansas we  '11  be  farther  still.  We  '11  have  to  live  on  the 
country,  and  must  do  as  the  rebels  do.  We  '11  get  along 
without  tea  and  coffee  and  other  luxuries,  and  settle  down 
to  corn-bread  and  bacon.  But  before  we  start  we  've  got 
to  replenish  our  stores  of  ammunition,  and  make  up  for 
what  was  consumed  at  Pea  Ridge.  In  my  opinion  that 's 
what  the  general  is  waiting  for,  and  we  sha'n't  get  orders 
to  march  until  everything  is  ready.  It  won't  do  to  go 
down  into  the  middle  of  Arkansas  without  being  'well 
heeled,'  as  they  say  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

"  Yes,  but  where  do  you  think  we  '11  go  when  we  start?  " 
queried  Jack. 

"  We  '11  go  for  the  capital  of  the  state,  and  I  '11  bet  on 


220  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

it,"  said  Harry.  "  When  we  have  taken  Little  Rock  we 
shall  virtually  have  the  State  in  our  possession,  and  that 
will  be  a  blow  to  the  rebels.  Of  course,  there  '11  be  parts 
of  it  still  in  their  hands,  but  the  possession  of  the  capital 
is  a  strong  point  on  our  side." 

The  youths  mentioned  their  belief  to  some  of  their  com- 
rades, and  the  latter  repeated  it  to  others.  The  story 
grew  with  each  repetition,  and  by  the  end  of  the  day  it  was 
currently  reported  throughout  the  camp  that  the  army 
was  about  to  advance  on  Little  Rock,  and  was  only  wait- 
ing for  supplies  and  reinforcements.  Inasmuch  as  that 
was  the  objective  point  that  General  Curtis  then  had  in 
view,  he  was  naturally  puzzled  to  know  how  the  story 
arose  when  it  was  reported  to  him.  Careful  and  close  in- 
quiry traced  it  to  Harry  and  Jack,  who  promj^tly  acknowl- 
edged their  authority  to  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
guesswork. 

There  was  a  vast  amount  of  this  amateur  generalship 
during  the  war,  and  it  was  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
men  in  the  field.  Every  cross-roads  grocery,  and  every 
place,  in  fact,  where  men  assembled  to  the  number  of  half 
a  dozen  or  more,  was  a  center  of  strategy,  in  which  cam- 
paigns innumerable  were  laid  out  and  battles  without 
number  were  fought,  and  always  won  by  the  side  on 
which  the  sympathies  of  the  strategists  were  enlisted. 
There  was  hardly  an  editor  of  a  newspaper  who  did  not 
feel  himself  fully  competent  to  direct  the  generals  in  the 
field  how  to  conduct  their  campaigns,  and  if  all  the 
editorial  advice  and  criticism  of  the  war  could  be  gathered 
and  printed  in  a  book,  it  would  form  probably  the  largest, 
and  undoubtedly  the  heaviest,  volume  ever  known. 

It  was  no  more  than  natural  that  the  soldiers  in  the 
field  should  put  their  brains  at  work  to  discover  what 
moves  were  intended,  and  very  often  the  generals  were 
obliged  to  use  a  good  deal  of  deception  to  prevent  the 


THE  LOST  AMMT.  221 

premature  working-out  of  their  plans.  Some  of  the  gen- 
erals lost  their  temper  whenever  they  learned  that  any- 
one besides  themselves  had  been  thus  using  his  brains, 
but  the  majority  of  them  took  it  good-naturedly,  and 
regarded  it  as  the  evident  outcome  of  an  army  drawn  from 
the  intelligent  population  of  the  North.  General  Curtis 
was  one  of  those  men  of  broad  views,  and  he  had  a  hearty 
laugh  to  himself  when  he  found  that  the  camp  rumor  was 
founded  upon  the  amateur  strategy  of  those  enterprising 
youths,  Jack  and  Harry. 

"  By  the  way,"  said  Jack  to  Harry,  "  do  you  know  what 
the  difference  is  between  strategy  and  tactics  ?  " 

"  I  can't  say  exactly,"  was  the  embarrassed  reply  ;  "  only 
I  think  strategy  is  a  good  deal  bigger  than  tactics,  and 
means  more." 

"  There's  one  more  syllable  in  it,  anyhow,"  said  Jack  ; 
"  but  that  doesn't  tell  the  whole  story.  Here  comes  IMr. 
Fay  el,  the  correspondent  of  the  Missouri  Democrat;  lets 
ask  him." 

Harry  agreed  to  it,  so  the  momentous  question  was  pro- 
pounded to  the  good-natured  gentleman,  who  had  been 
with  the  army  since  its  departure  from  Springfield. 

"  Harry  was  right,"  said  Mr.  Fay  el,  "  when  he  thought 
strategy  was  larger,  and  included  more  than  tactics. 
Strategy  is  the  art  of  moving  armies  through  a  country 
and  conducting  a  military  campaign.  It  is  the  science  of 
military  command,  or  the  science  of  directing  great  move- 
ments. On  the  other  hand,  tactics  is  the  science  of  dis- 
posing military  and  naval  forces  in  order  of  battle  and 
performing  military  and  naval  evolutions.  It  was  strategy 
to  bring  the  army  here  from  Rolla,  and  to  fall  back  to  the 
position  on  Sugar  Creek  and  get  everything  in  shape  for 
fighting.  The  general  showed  his  tactics  in  handling  the 
troops  on  the  battlefield,  and  by  winning  the  fight  he 
showed  himself  a  successful  tactician." 


222  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"  Ever  so  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  explanation,"  said 
Harry,  to  which  Jack  added  his  vote  of  obligation. 

Harry  was  about  to  ask  another  question,  but  was  in- 
terrupted by  the  sudden  arrival  of  an  orderly,  who  said 
the  youths  were  wanted  immediately  at  General  Van- 
dever's  tent.  Wondering  what  the  sndden  summons 
could  mean,  they  started  at  once  to  obey  it. 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  223 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

A  NEW  SCOUTING  EXPEDITION CAPTURED  BY  THE  ENEMY. 

"  General  Curtis  wants  you  to  go  on  an  expedition," 
said  General  Vandever,  when  the  youths  reported  to  him. 
"  Are  you  ready  for  it  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  General,"  replied  Harry  ;  "  anything  that 
you  order  we  '11  do  if  we  can." 

"  It  is  n't  an  order,"  said  the  general,  smiling,  "  as  it  is 
one  of  those  things  that  come  outside  of  orders." 

Then  he  paused,  and  the  youths  waited  for  him  to  con- 
tinue, which  he  did  in  a  moment. 

"  It 's  an  expedition  into  the  enemy's  country,  where 
you  '11  run  a  good  deal  of  risk ;  but,  as  you  are  not  enlisted 
into  the  service,  you  can  undertake  it  without  compromis- 
ing yourselves  to  the  same  extent  that  a  soldier  would. 
You  '11  have  to  go  in  disguise,  and  conceal  your  real 
character.     There  's  where  the  risk  comes  in." 

The  general  left  them,  while  he  strolled  outside  his 
tent,  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  consider  the  pro- 
posal. 

"  I  'm  ready  to  go.  Jack,"  said  Harry,"  provided  you  are." 

"  Of  course  I  'm  ready  enough,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  feel 
sure  we  shall  get  through  all  right.  We  can  play  our  old 
game  that  we  succeeded  with  last  year,  though  we  may 
have  to  vary  it  a  good  deal,  according  to  circumstances." 

When  the  general  returned  they  announced  their 
decision.  He  immediately  accompanied  them  to  General 
Curtis's  tent,  and  they  received  their  instructions. 


224  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

"  I  want  you  to  go  to  Fort  Scott,  in  Kansas,  about  one 
hundred  miles  nortliwest  from  here ;  go  as  quickly  as  you 
can,  but  don't  press  your  horses  or  appear  to  be  in  a  great 
hurry.  Take  two  days  for  the  trip,  or  three,  if  necessary, 
and  when  you  get  there  do  as  the  commander  of  the  post 
directs  you.  I  will  see  that  you  are  provided  with  'but- 
ternut '  clothes  during  the  day  ;  and  if  you  are  using  mili- 
tary saddles  on  your  horses,  you  had  better  change  them 
for  common  ones  of  the  country. 

"I  have  heard  of  the  cleverness  you  have  shown  on 
previous  occasions,"  the  general  continued,  "  and  have  no 
doubt  you  will  get  through  all  right  and  come  back  safely. 
But  it  will  require  courage  and  presence  of  mind,  as  you 
are  likely  to  meet  scouting  parties  of  the  enemy,  and 
must  be  prepared  to  play  your  characters  well." 

The  boys  promised  they  would  do  their  best,  and  at  a 
signal  from  General  Vandever  they  saluted  and  retired. 

From  a  quantity  of  clothing  in  the  hands  of  the  quarter- 
master they  selected  two  well-worn  suits  of  common 
material  of  the  country.  Though  well  worn,  the  suits 
were  clean,  having  been  recently  washed,  and  by  order  of 
General  Vandever  the  garments  were  sent  to  General 
Curtis  for  his  chief  of  staff  to  inspect.  The  inspection 
showed  that  they  needed  mending  in  several  places,  to 
insure  their  holding  out  through  the  journey,  and  they 
were  accordingly  submitted  to  the  care  of  the  headquarters' 
tailor  for  a  few  hours.  To  make  sure  that  the  work  was 
properly  done,  the  chief  of  staff  had  it  performed  in  his 
own  tent,  and  directly  under  his  eye,  being  unwilling  to 
trust  the  tailor  out  of  sight. 

Toward  evening  the  patched  and  mended  garments 
were  ready,  and  were  brought  by  an  orderly  to  General 
Vandever's  tent.  Their  hats  and  boots  were  in  keeping 
with  the  rest  of  their  wardrobe,  and  when  fully  rigged  the 
boys  looked  the  very  picture  of  natives  of  the  soil  of  Mis- 


Jack  and  Harry  captured  by  the  Enemy. 


Page  226. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  225 

souri  or  Arkansas.  By  General  Yanclever's  order  they  did 
not  show  themselves  about  the  camp  in  their  new  outfit, 
but  remained  closely  concealed  in  a  tent  in  the  rear  of  his. 
They  ate  a  hearty  supper  and  went  early  into  their 
blankets,  so  as  to  be  up  and  off  before  the  break  of  day. 

Nearly  two  hoars  before  daylight  their  horses,  which 
had  been  tied  close  to  the  general's  tent  and  well  fed, 
were  saddled,  and  the  boys,  after  swallowing  a  hasty  and 
very  early  breakfast,  announced  themselves  ready  to 
start.  The  general  bade  them  good-bye,  and  said  his 
adjutant  would  escort  them  out  of  the  lines. 

"But  we  have  n't  any  dispatches  yet,"  said  Harry. 
"We  supposed  General  Curtis  had  some  dispatches  for 
us  to  carry." 

"  Don  't  you  remember,  he  said,  '  Go  to  Fort  Scott  and 
do  as  the  post  commander  directs  you '  ?  That 's  all. 
You  '11  get  your  orders  when  you  arrive  there." 

Satisfied  with  the  explanation,  Harry  returned  the  gen- 
eral's good-bye,  and  so  did  Jack.  The  adjutant  appeared 
at  this  moment,  and  under  the  convoy  of  a  single  cavalry- 
man they  moved  in  the  direction  of  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  camp. 

Under  the  orders  of  the  adjutant  the  picket  allowed  the 
two  youths  to  pass,  and  in  a  few  moments  they  were  lost 
in  the  darkness.  They  jogged  slowly  along  the  road  until 
daylight  came,  and  then,  as  the  country  became  visible, 
quickened  their  pace. 

After  riding  about  three  hours,  and  meeting  no  inter- 
ruption, they  halted  at  the  crossing  of  a  small  creek  to 
eat  some  of  the  corn-bread  they  carried  in  their  pockets, 
and  give  their  horses  a  chance  to  graze.  It  was  Harry's 
suggestion  that  they  should  provide  themselves  with  corn- 
bread  instead  of  dry  biscuit  or  hard -tack,  such  as  formed 
the  rations  of  the  soldiers.  "You  see,"  he  explained,  "  the 
hard-tack  might  give  us  away  in  case  we  are  stopped  and 
15 


226  THE  LOST  AR3IY. 

searched  ;  but  if  we  carry  nothing  but  corn-bread,  which 
everybody  eats  in  tliis  country,  it  won't  be  at  all  suspi- 
cious." Jack  agreed  to  the  soundness  of  this  argument, 
and  accordingly  corn-bread  formed  their  sole  supply  of 
provisions,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  slices  of  bacon. 

While  they  were  lying  on  the  ground,  indulging  in  their 
very  plain  meal,  a  party  of  ten  or  twelve  men  appeared 
suddenly,  from  the  direction  they  intended  to  go  Their 
leader  brought  them  to  a  halt,  and  they  quickly  sur- 
rounded the  two  boys. 

Harry  and  Jack  were  prepared  for  just  such  an  emer- 
gency, and  continued  to  munch  their  corn-bread  with  the 
greatest  unconcern.  The  leader  of  the  scouting  party 
asked  who  they  were  and  where  they  were  going. 

"  We  's  from  Forsyth  way,  and  want  to  find  some  Home- 
Guard  Yankees  that  stole  two  of  our  horses,"  Harry 
explained. 

"  Forsyth  way  ?  Then  you  know  Pony  Matteson,  down 
on  Dobbin's  Branch." 

"  Don't  know  him,"  answered  Harry,  "  but  I  've  heard 
tell  of  him.  We  ain't  lived  there  long  enough  to  know 
many  folks  ;  used  to  live  up  close  to  Rolla,  till  the  Yanks 
drove  us  out  six  months  ago." 

This  suggestion  appeared  satisfactory  to  the  questioner, 
as  it  implied  the  soundness  of  the  youths  on  the  war-ques- 
tion. But  he  was  not  altogether  convinced,  and  asked  if 
they  'd  been  in  the  army. 

Harry  answered  that  they  tried  to  get  down  to  join 
Price's  army  before  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  but  were 
captured  by  the  Yankee  soldiers,  and  only  got  away  by 
promising  to  go  home  and  stay  there.  Since  the  battle 
the  country  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Yankees  and 
Home  Guards,  and  they  had  to  hide  in  the  bushes  most 
of  the  time  to  keep  out  of  the  way. 

Then  he  went  into  a  general  denunciation  of  the  Yan- 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  <2.11 

kees,  and  gave  details,  somewhat  garrulous,  about  their 
appearance  and  conduct.  To  this  he  added  stories  of  what 
the  people  around  the  battlefield  said  about  them,  and 
altogether  gave  them  anything  but  a  good  character. 

The  leader  cut  short  the  talk  by  ordering  the  boys  to 
stand  up.  N"eedless  to  say  they  obeyed,  but  with  a  wonder- 
ing expression  on  their  faces. 

"  We  '11  go  through  you,"  said  he,  with  more  emphasis 
than  civility  in  his  tone,  "  and  if  we  find  out  you  're  lying 
it  '11  be  bad  for  you." 

At  his  orders  four  of  the  men  searched  the  youths,  turn- 
ing their  pockets  inside  out,  and  looking  in  the  inside  of 
their  hats  and  shoes.  If  any  dispatches  had  been  con- 
cealed there  they  would  surely  have  been  discovered.  By 
advice  of  General  Vandever,  rather  than  their  own  inclina- 
tion, they  had  taken  no  weapons  of  any  kind,  and  now 
they  thanked  their  stars  that  they  were  unarmed.  Had 
they  carried  their  pistols  they  would  have  been  of  no  use 
at  this  juncture,  and  would  certainly  have  got  them  into 
trouble. 

Harry  had  a  pocket-knife,  very  old  and  worn,  and  this 
he  was  allowed  to  keep.  Jack  had  a  dozen  fish-hooks  in 
his  pocket  and  three  or  four  yards  of  line,  in  addition  to 
eight  or  ten  dollars  in  rebel  shinplasters.  The  shin- 
plasters  and  fish-hooks  were  appropriated  by  the  search- 
ers, and  also  the  line,  the  captain  remarking  that  they 
could  buy  more  line  when  they  got  home.  The  pieces  of 
corn-bread  which  they  had  in  their  pockets  were  left  to 
them,  along  with  the  pocket-knife,  and  then  they  were 
told  they  might  go. 

Jack  protested  against  the  loss  of  his  fish-hooks,  but  he 
did  not  continue  the  protest  very  long.  Then  Harry 
assumed  the  role  of  questioner,  and  asked  about  the  roads 
leading  to  the  northwest,  and  was  particularly  anxious  to 
ascertain  if  any  Home   Guards  had  been  seen  in  that 


228  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

direction.  He  described  the  lost  horses  minutely,  and 
asked  the  captain  to  send  word  to  James  Pratt  at  Forsyth 
in  case  he  found  out  where  the  horses  were. 

With  this  parting  request  he  mounted  his  steed,  thank- 
ful that  it  was  left  to  him,  and  Harry  followed  his  ex- 
ample. It  was  fortunate  for  the  youths  that  the  scouting 
party  were  all  well  mounted  and  their  horses  were  fresh, 
as  they  would  have  been  quite  likely  to  ask  for  an  ex- 
change, and  make  it,  too,  without  waiting  to  ascertain  if 
an  exchange  was  desired  by  the  parties  of  the  second 
part. 

"  They  're  pretty  searching  in  their  investigations,"  said 
Harry,  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  and  hearing. 
"  It  was  lucky  we  had  no  dispatches  about  our  hats  or 
boots." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  responded  Jack.  "  Wonder  what  the 
next  party  '11  do  ?  Perhaps  they  '11  make  us  take  off  our 
clothes  and  see  if  we  have  n't  something  written  on  our 
skins." 

"  That 's  a  good  idea,"  said  Harry.  "  I  '11  suggest  it  to 
General  Yandever  the  next  time  he  wants  to  send  a 
courier  through  the  enemy's  country." 

'<  I  have  it,"  exclaimed  Jack.  "  Why  not  put  a  dispatch 
under  a  porous  or  some  other  plaster  between  a  fellow's 
shoulders  ?    Nobody  would  think  of  disturbing  it." 

"  Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  was  the  reply.  "  The  plas- 
ter is  an  old  trick  of  diamond  smugglers ;  it  has  been 
successfully  used,  and  it  has  also  been  detected.  It  might 
work  on  these  country  jayhawkers,  but  anybody  of  ex- 
perience is  sure  to  have  heard  of  it." 

As  they  rode  along  they  busied  themselves  Avith  devis- 
ing means  of  concealing  dispatches  and  making  ciphers 
which  would  be  absolutely  blind  to  the  uninitiated  and 
only  read  by  those  possessing  the  key.  As  fast  as  one  of 
them  designed  a  mode  of  concealment  the  other  cited  an 


THE  LOST  AJiMT.  229 

instance  of  its  previous  use,  and  whenever  one  proposed 
a  ciplier  tlie  other  managed  in  one  way  or  anotlier  to  sliow 
its  defects. 

They  liad  about  come  to  the  conchision  that  Solomon 
was  right  when  lie  said  there  was  nothing  new  under  the 
sun,  when  suddenly  a  gruff  voice  from  the  bushes  at  the 
roadside  called  out : 

"  Halt,  there  ! " 

They  looked  in  the  direction  whence  the  sound  came, 
and  saw  the  muzzles  of  four  or  five  rifles  pointing  directly 
at  them.     It  is  needless  to  say  they  halted. 


280  THE  LOST  AlUir. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

CAPTURED    AGAIX HOW    JACK    "  PLAYED    CRAZY." 

Their  new  captors  proved  to  belong  to  the  band  through 
whose  hands  they  had  passed,  as  already  described,  and 
after  another  examination,  in  which  their  pockets  were 
again  turned  inside  out,  they  were  allowed  to  proceed. 
As  they  rode  on  Jack  suggested  a  new  idea  for  their 
actions  the  next  time  they  were  stopped,  as  he  was  fear- 
ful they  might  encounter  somebody  from  "  Forsyth  way," 
and  thus  it  would  be  discovered  that  they  were  not  tell- 
ing the  truth. 

"  I  tell  you  what,"  said  Jack,  "  the  next  time  they 
stop  us,  if  they  don't  come  on  us  too  suddenly,  I  '11  play 
crazy." 

"  How  '11  you  do  it?"  Harry  asked. 

"  Why,  I  '11  act  crazy  or  idiotic  enough,  and  you  can 
say  you  're  my  brother  taking  me  home.  We  live  some- 
where in  the  western  part  of  Missouri,  and  have  been 
away  from  home  a  long  time  ;  or  perhaps  you  can  locate 
us  in  Kansas,  near  Fort  Scott. 

"  All  right,"  responded  Harry,  "  we  '11  try  it  on  and 
see  how  it  works." 

They  did  n't  have  any  occasion  for  trying  it  that  day, 
as  they  -  encountered  no  other  loving  bands.  They 
stopped  at  two  or  three  houses  along  the  road,  partly  to 
ask  the  way  and  partly  to  keep  up  their  assumed  charac- 
ters by  asking  if  anything  had  been  seen  of  some  Home 
Guards  with  two  horses,  one  a  dark  gray  with  a  short 


THE  LOST  AR]\JY.  231 

tail  and  one  ear  notched,  and  the  other  a  roan  that  carried 
his  head  very  high  and  liad  a  white  patch  on  the  side  of 
his  nose.  The  white  liorse  was  called  Ironsides,  Harry- 
explained,  and  the  roan  one  Tatters.  The  people  were 
evidently  suspicious  of  strangers,  and  did  not  welcome 
them  with  a  show  of  delight,  but  they  gave  them  the 
directions  they  wanted  about  the  roads.  They  were  care- 
ful not  to  ask  for  Fort  Scott,  or  any  other  place  in  Kansas, 
but  confined  their  inquiries  within  the  boundaries  of 
Missouri.  Night  overtook  them  at  a  deserted  house, 
and  they  at  first  thought  they  would  sleep  there,  but 
after  some  deliberation  concluded  it  would  not  be 
altogether  safe.  By  good  luck  they  found  concealed 
among  the  trees  a  small  haystack,  which  not  only  gave 
them  a  sleeping-place,  but  all  the  feed  they  wanted  for 
their  horses.  They  made  a  supper  from  their  bread  and 
bacon,  and  then  picketed  their  animals  securely,  and 
while  one  of  them  watched  the  other  slept.  They  feared 
to  be  surprised  during  the  night  or  early  morning  by  the 
owner  of  the  haystack,  or  some  one  wlio  knew  of  its 
existence,  and  they  naturally  wished  to  have  time  to 
get  away  if  possible,  by  discovering  the  approach  of 
strangers. 

They  were  not  disturbed,  and  in  good  time  in  the 
morning  they  took  to  the  road  again  in  tlie  direction  of 
Fort  Scott.  The  direct  route  would  liave  carried  them 
through  Granby  and  Carthage,  but  they  prudently  avoided 
both  these  places  by  taking  roads  that  led  around  them. 

About  ten  in  the  forenoon  they  came  to  a  house  where 
there  were  signs  of  habitation,  and  Harry  suggested  that 
it  would  be  a  good  place  for  Jack  to  experiment  in  "  play- 
ing crazy."  So  they  rode  up  to  the  house  and  were  met 
by  an  old  man  and  two  or  three  women,  who  came  to  the 
door  as  they  were  seen  approaching. 

Jack  sprang  from  his  liorse  and  rushed  at  the  man  as 


232  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

though  he  were  an  old  and  intimate  friend.  The  man 
drew  back  in  alarm. 

"  Don't  mind  him,"  said  Plarry.  "  He  's  crazy,  and 
thinks  every  old  man  he  sees  is  his  father  who  died  ten 
years  ago." 

"  How  de  do,  father  ?"  said  Jack,  taking  the  cue  from 
Harry ;  "  so  glad  to  see  you,  father,  after  all  this  time. 
Where  've  you  been  so  long  ?  " 

The  man  thought  it  best  to  humor  the  boy,  and  said  he 
had  n't  been  far  away ;  only  down  to  the  next  town. 

"  He  's  my  brother,"  said  Harry,  "  and  the  doctors  say 
the  only  thing  to  cure  him  is  to  take  him  home.  We  've 
been  down  South,  in  Arkansas,  and  we  're  going  home  to 
Bourbon  county,  Kansas,  where  mother  lives." 

"  Say,  father,  I  'm  real  hungry,  and  thought  you  'd  have 
breakfast  ready,"  said  Jack.  "  You  know,  you  've  always 
had  breakfast  ready  long  before  this  time." 

There  was  method  in  Jack's  madness  that  might  have 
roused  suspicion,  but  the  very  boldness  of  the  suggestion 
was  calculated  to  disarm  it. 

"That  's  the  first  sensible  thing  he  's  said  to-day," 
remarked  Harry ;  "  for  I  'm  sure  the  poor  boy  must  be 
hungry,  as  he  has  n't  eaten  anything  since  yesterday. 
The  doctor  told  me  he  'd  come  to  his  senses  some  time 
when  he  wanted  anything  real  bad." 

The  women  had  crowded  around  the  group  and  were 
joined  by  half-a-dozen  tow-headed  children,  that  one  after 
another  put  in  an  appearance  from  inner  rooms  or  the 
rear  of  the  house.  Great  sympathy  was  shown  for  the 
poor  crazy  boy,  and  a  breakfast  of  corn-bread  and  bacon, 
the  best  that  could  be  offered,  and  very  acceptable  it  was, 
was  set  before  them. 

Jack,  while  they  were  preparing  breakfast,  had  gone 
about  the  house  criticising  everything  and  commenting 
freely  on  the   appearance   of    its   occupants.      He    was 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  233 

shrewd  enough  to  make  his  comments  of  a  flattering 
character  ;  he  praised  the  beauty  of  the  unkempt  children ; 
thought  one  of  the  women  looked  like  the  governor's  wife 
at  Little  Rock,  and  was  sure  she  was  his  sister.  When 
she  denied  the  relationship  Jack  assumed  anger,  and 
Harry  Avhispered  to  her  that  she  had  better  humor  him, 
as  she  certainly  did  resemble  the  governor's  wife  enough 
to  put  the  idea  in  the  boy's  head. 

Jack  insisted  that  the  governor's  wife  was  the  charm- 
ingest  lady  in  Arkansas,  and  as  Harry  echoed  the  senti- 
ment he  found  it  was  not  received  unkindly.  Instead  of 
eating  their  corn-bread  dry  they  had  molasses  on  it,  a 
small  jug  of  that  precious  article  being  brought  out  from 
some  place  of  concealment  by  the  woman  who  resembled 
the  heroine  of  the  gubernatorial  mansion  of  the  capital  of 
Arkansas. 

The  boys  could  not  pay  for  their  breakfast,  as  they  had 
nothing  to  pay  with.  At  a  signal  from  Harry,  Jack 
assumed  an  air  of  sonniolence,  while  the  sane  brother  told 
the  news  from  Arkansas  and  answered  all  questions  about 
the  Yankee  soldiers  down  near  the  frontier.  He  explained 
that  he  had  no  difficulty  in  coming  right  through  the 
Yankee  lines,  as  they  took  pity  on  his  poor  crazy  brother, 
but  they  would  not  let  them  stop  anywhere  in  the  camp 
nor  look  around  to  see  what  they  had  there. 

Soon  after  they  had  finished  breakfast  they  continued 
their  journey,  accepting  with  many  thanks  a  goodly  par- 
cel of  the  bacon  and  bread  which  had  been  left  over  from 
the  meal  and  would  form  an  excellent  supper.  Until  long 
after  they  were  out  of  sight  of  the  house  Jack  continued 
to  wear  the  idiotic  expression  of  countenance  by  which  he 
had  so  successfully  carried  out  his  deception. 

"I  was  half  ashamed  of  myself,  in  fact  a  good  deal 
more  than  half,"  said  he,  "  when  I  found  how  kmdly  they 
treated  us.      They  took  pity  on  me  and  gave  us  a  good 


234  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

breakfast,  which  we  sadly  needed,  and  they  could  n't  have 
been  more  sympathetic  if  we  'd  been  of  their  own  kith  and 
kin." 

"  And  to  think  I  flattered  that  woman  into  believing  she 
looked  like  the  wife  of  the  governor  of  Arkansas,  whom 
I  've  never  seen,  and  don't  know  how  she  looks.  Well, 
anyway,  she  had  a  good,  pleasant  face,  and  if  the  gover- 
nor's wife  has  as  kind  a  heart  His  Excellency  may  be 
proud  of  her." 

"We  '11  get  even  with  them  and  make  a  return  for  their 
kindness  one  of  these  days,"  said  Harry ;  "  and  perhaps 
we  '11  do  it  very  soon.  But  it  will  never  do  to  let  them 
know  how  they  were  imposed  upon,  as  it  would  be  a 
reflection  on  their  discernment." 

Nothing  of  consequence  happened  to  the  youths  until 
late  in  the  afternoon,  when  they  were  suddenly  confronted 
by  ten  or  twelve  rough-looking  fellows,  armed  with  shot- 
guns and  squirrel-rifles,  after  the  usual  style  of  the  scout- 
ing parties  they  had  already  seen.  But  if  there  was  any 
difi:'erence  between  this  party  and  its  predecessors,  it  was 
in  favor  of  the  earlier  ones,  as  the  crowd  they  were  now 
facing  seemed  to  be  decidedly  a  worse  lot.  With  their 
weapons  aimed  at  the  heads  of  the  youths  they  ordered 
them  down  from  their  horses,  threatening  to  shoot  them 
if  they  did  n't  get  down  at  once. 

"  Now  I  '11  do  the  crazy,  idiotic  trick,"  whispered 
Jack. 

Harry  got  down  from  his  horse,  but  Jack  sat  still  and 
stared  vacantly  and  with  open  mouth  at  the  rangers. 

"  Get  off  that  horse !  "  said  one  of  the  men,  "  and  be 
quick  about  it." 

"  Don't  mind  him  !  "  exclaimed  Harry  ;  "  he  's  my  crazy 
brother,  and  I  'm  taking  him  home.  He  don't  know  what 
he  's  doing." 

This  seemed  to  amuse  the  strangers,  and  they  drew 


'  THE  LOST  ARMY.  235 

down  their  weapons  and  waited  to  see  what  the  lunatic 
would  do  next. 

Jack  continued  to  hold  his  mouth  open  and  look  as 
foolish  as  possible.  He  stared  at  the  strangers  for  two  or 
three  minutes,  shifting  his  gaze  from  one  to  another. 
Fhially,  pointing  to  one  of  the  men,  he  said  : 

"That  's  General  Price;  I  know  'tis." 

The  men  laughed  heartily  at  this  suggestion,  and 
not  the  mildest  of  the  laughers  was  the  individual  who 
had  been  thus  designated.  It  is  not  always  that  the 
victim  of  a  joke  can  enjoy  it  as  well  as  do  those  about 
him. 

The  newly-commissioned  "  general  "  was  moiuited  on  a 
fine  horse  (which  was  not  branded  with  his  initials),  and 
suddenly  Jack  took  a  fancy  to  the  animal  and  proposed  a 
trade.  The  general  declined,  and  Jack  insisted.  To 
prove  his  earnestness  he  descended  from  his  own  steed 
and  tried  to  pull  the  general  down  from  the  horse  that  he 
coveted ;  but  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  he  did  not  pull 
very  hard,  as  the  general  retained  his  place. 

All  this  time  the  men  laughed  heartily  at  the  antics  of 
the  supposed  lunatic,  and  they  continued  to  laugh  when 
Jack  asked  one  of  them  to  shoot  the  general  because  he 
would  n't  swap  horses.  As  the  man  would  n't  comi^ly  with 
his  wish.  Jack  begged  for  a  gun,  that  he  might  do  the 
shooting  himself,  and  when  that  was  refused  he  threat- 
ened to  find  somebody  who  would  lend  him  a  cannon,  or 
a  whole  dozen  of  them,  and  he  would  come  around  and 
shoot  everybody  that  tried  to  stop  him. 

Harry  begged  the  men  not  to  oppose  Jack,  as  it  only 
made  him  worse.  Then  Jack  proposed  to  go  along  with 
them,  so  that  he  could  get  the  general's  horse  whenever 
he  got  off ;  a  suggestion  that  did  not  meet  with  approval. 
But  Jack  insisted  to  such  an  extent  that  the  general  lost 
his  temper,   and  began  to  swear  roundly  at  both  the 


2:36  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

youths,  till  he  was  stopped  by  the  one  who  appeared  to  be 
the  leader. 

Jack's  ruse  worked  to  a  charm,  as  the  rangers  were  now 
quite  as  desirous  of  getting  rid  of  the  boys  as  they  had 
previously  been  to  make  their  acquaintance.  They 
assisted  Harry  to  get  Jack  on  his  horse  again,  and  told 
him  they  would  stay  where  they  were  till  the  youths 
were  out  of  sight.  Harry  mounted  once  more,  and  with 
considerable  apparent  difficulty  persuaded  Jack  to  accom- 
pany him.  He  only  succeeded  in  doing  so  by  exacting  a 
promise  from  "  General  Price  "  that  he  would  follow  them 
at  once  and  trade  horses  when  they  went  into  camp  that 
evening. 

With  this  understanding  they  rode  off,  and  as  they  went 
over  the  crest  of  the  ridge  Harry  peered  over  his  shoulder 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  their  late  acquaintances 
riding  the  other  way  along  the  road  at  a  smart  pace. 
They  were  greatly  relieved  when  they  saw  the  last  of  the 
jayliawkers,  and  devoutly  hoped  they  would  not  encoun- 
ter them  again. 

To  make  sure  of  being  out  of  their  reach,  they  rode  at 
a  good  speed  for  two  hours  and  more.  The  sun  was  about 
setting  when  they  came  to  a  vacant  house.  While  they 
were  looking  through  it  and  its  outbuildings,  in  search  of 
feed  for  their  steeds,  and  possibly  for  something  they 
could  put  into  their  own  mouths,  a  squad  of  horsemen 
dashed  up  to  the  door,  and  they  found  themselves  prison- 
ers once  more. 

Things  were  getting  lively,  but  they  felt  easy  this  time, 
as  they  saw  that  the  uniform  of  their  captors  was  the 
union  blue.  The  squad  was  quickly  followed  by  another 
and  then  by  another,  until  not  less  than  fifty  mounted 
men  were  assembled.  They  were  under  the  command 
of  a  captain,  who  proceeded  to  interrogate  the  young 
prisoners. 


THE  LOST  AR3rY.  237 

Harry  was  inclined  to  be  suspicious,  as  he  had  been  told 
that  a  band  of  thieves  wearing  the  federal  uniform  was 
scouring  the  country  and  committing  atrocities  such  as 
the  worst  of  the  secession  bands  had  rarely  been  accused 
of.  So  he  answered  by  telling  the  old  story  of  having 
come  from  the  neighborhood  of  Forsyth,  and  being  in 
pursuit  of  some  horse-thieves.  He  again  described  the 
missing  horses,  and  asked  if  the  depredating  Home 
Guards  had  been  seen  by  the  captain  or  his  men. 

His  course  was  a  prudent  one,  as  we  can  easily  see.  In 
case  his  captors  were  really  union  cavalrymen  he  knew 
that  no  harm  was  likely  to  come  to  Jack  or  himself.  He 
was  ready  to  declare  who  and  what  they  were  as  soon  as 
he  was  satisfied  of  the  genuineness  of  the  apparent  union- 
ists ;  but,  if  on  the  other  hand,  they  should  prove  to  be 
the  band  of  murderers  of  which  he  had  heard,  the  fate  of 
both  the  youths  would  have  been  sealed,  and  their  lives 
forfeited  if  they  had  avowed  their  real  characters. 

Harry  and  Jack  endured  very  well  the  searching  inves- 
tigation of  the  captain  ;  stuck  to  the  original  story  and  did 
not  reveal  their  true  characters,  and  were  finally  turned 
over  to  the  care  of  the  guard,  who  treated  them  kindly, 
though  without  giving  them  the  least  chance  for  getting 
away.  This  was  an  indication  in  the  right  direction,  and 
Harry  proceeded  to  follow  it  up. 

Finding  that  the  sentinel  who  had  them  in  charge  was 
inclined  to  be  talkative,  he  engaged  him  in  conversation, 
and  soon  learned  enough  to  convince  him  that  he  was 
among  friends.  Then  he  asked  to  be  taken  before  the 
captain  again,  as  he  had  something  to  say  that  he  had 
hitherto  concealed. 

His  request  was  conveyed  to  the  captain,  and  he  soon 
followed  the  request.  When  he  came  into  the  officer's 
presence,  the  latter  impatiently  said  : 

"  Well,  young  fellow,  what  is  it  now  ?  " 


238  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

"I  want  to  say,"  responded  Harry,  "that  we  haven't 
told  you  the  truth.' 

"That's  nothing  surprishig,"  was  the  reply;  "very  few 
people  tell  it  nowadays  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

"We've  told  yon  we  were  secesh,"  explained  Harry, 
"  and  we  're  nothing  of  the  sort." 

"  That's  too  thin,"  exclaimed  the  captain ;  "  if  you  think 
you're  going  to  play  union  on  nie  you're  mistaken." 

He  looked  the  youth  straight  in  the  eye  as  he  said  this. 
Harry  met  his  glance  firmly,  and  after  a  moment's  pause 
answered  : 

"  We  don't  propose  to  play  anything  on  you  now,  since 
we  're  satisfied  you  're  union  soldiers.  We  were  afraid 
you  might  be  guerrillas  in  disguise,  and  so  told  the  horse- 
stealing story  that  we  'd  made  up  for  our  protection." 

"Well,  what  are  you,  anyway,  and  where  are  you 
going  ?  " 

"We're  from  General  Curtis's  army,  and  are  going  to 
Fort  Scott  as  soon  as  we  can  get  there." 

Instantly  the  captain's  manner  changed.  He  arose  from 
his  seat  and  said  he  thought  they  were  the  very  boys  he 
wanted  to  find. 

"  Anyway,"  he  continued,  "  we  '11  accommodate  you  by 
taking  you  to  Fort  Scott.  If  you  've  told  the  truth  it  will 
be  all  right,  and  if  you  've  lied  and  are  the  secesh  you  first 
made  yourselves  out  to  be  you  '11  have  a  taste  of  the 
guard-house  that  '11  cure  you  of  a  habit  of  wandering  from 
the  truth." 

Then  the  captain  gave  orders  that  the  youths  should  be 
carefully  looked  after  and  not  have  a  chance  of  escaping, 
but  at  the  same  time  they  should  be  permitted  to  ride 
their  own  horses  and  have  every  privilege  consistent 
with  being  carefully  guarded.  "  They  are  probably 
all  right,  but  they  may  be  all  wrong,  and  so  we  won't 
take  any  chances  on  them,"  the  captain  remarked  to  his 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  239 

lieutenant,  as  the  youths  disappeared  in  charge  of  their 
guard. 

Brigiit  and  early  the  next  morning  the  whole  party  was 
on  the  road  toward  Fort  Scott,  wiiere  they  arrived  safely, 
but  not  without  a  slight  brush  with  a  small  band  of  guer- 
rillas whom  they  encountered  about  a  mile  from  their 
camping  place.  A  few  shots  were  exchanged,  but  at  such 
long  range  that  it  is  doubtful  if  anybody  was  hurt.  Cer- 
tainly nobody  was  injured  on  the  union  side,  though 
several  bullets  whistled  very  near. 

The  party  which  captured  our  young  friends  had  been 
sent  from  Fort  Scott  for  the  double  purpose  of  looking- 
for  messengers  from  General  Curtis,  and  also  to  ascertain 
the  whereabouts  of  any  guerrilla  bands  that  might  be 
infesting  the  country.  Having  no  proof  of  their  character, 
the  captain  was  naturally  disinclined  to  believe  their 
second  story.  He  had  supposed  they  were  lying  when  they 
were  first  brought  before  him,  and,  therefore,  was  not  in- 
clined to  accept  without  a  great  deal  of  reserve  the  sub- 
sequent explanation. 

But  all  doubt  was  cleared  up  when  the  scouting  party 
reached  Fort  Scott  and  handed  its  captives  over  to  the 
commandant  of  the  post.  Colonel  Hinton,  the  officer  who 
then  held  that  position,  questioned  the  youths  briefiy  and 
learned  when  and  how  they  were  sent  away.  When 
satisfied  on  this  point  he  asked  for  their  dispatches. 

"  We  have  n't  any,"  Harry  answered.  Then  he  told  the 
circumstances  attending  their  departure. 

"  But  I  'm  sure  you  have  brought  them,  as  General  Cur- 
tis was  to  send  a  messenger  about  this  time,  and  that  was 
one  of  the  objects  for  which  I  sent  out  the  scouting 
party," 

Harry  repeated  his  assurance  that  they  had  brought  no 
dispatches ;  then  the  colonel  laughed  and  called  his  adju- 
tant, and  the  latter,  at  the  colonel's  suggestion,  proceeded 


240  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

to  rip  off  some  of  the  patches  on  the  butternut  garments 
of  the  boys.  The  first  and  second  of  the  patclies  revealed 
nothing,  but  the  tliird  yielded  a  letter  written  on  thin 
paper,  and  inclosed  in  oiled  silk.  Another  patch  brought 
forth  another  letter,  and  by  the  time  the  garments  had 
been  restored  to  their  original  unpatched  condition,  no 
less  than  tliree  dispatches  had  been  brought  to  light. 

llari-y  and  Jack  stood  speechless  with  astonishment. 
Here  they  had  been  carrying  dispatches  without  knowing 
it ;  the  mystery  of  their  having  nothing  further  to  do  than 
report  to  the  commander  of  the  post  was  explained. 

"  This  is  nothing  new,"  said  the  colonel,  as  he  silently 
regarded  the  youths.  "  It  isn't  the  first  time  a  man  has 
served  as  messenger  without  being  aware  of  it ;  but  your 
case  is  n't  equal  to  that  of  a  man  in  Kentucky  that  I  heard 
of  not  long  ago.  He  was  a  rebel  spy,  who  passed  fre- 
quently inside  our  lines.  One  of  our  spies  who  was  with 
the  rebel  army  used  to  conceal  dispatches  in  tlie  lining  of 
this  man's  overcoat  whenever  he  saw  indications  that  he 
was  about  to  go  away,  and  when  he  got  into  our  lines  an 
officer  who  knew  his  real  character  used  to  get  possession 
of  the  papers,  the  efficient  carrier  being  entirely  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  thus  being  used.  He  was  allowed 
to  come  and  go,  as  his  services  to  the  Union  were  much 
greater  than  to  the  Confederacy,  though  he  was  no  friend 
of  ours." 

The  colonel  then  gave  orders  that  the  boys  should  be 
well  fed  and  cared  for,  and  told  them  they  could  rest  a 
day  before  setting  out  on  their  return.  "  And  Mdien  you 
go  back,"  said  the  colonel,  "  you  will  not  run  as  much  risk 
as  you  have  just  been  through." 

They  had  their  day's  rest  as  proposed,  and  on  the 
second  morning  after  their  arrival  at  Fort  Scott  they 
started  on  the  return  journey.  Colonel  Hinton  assigned 
a  company  of  cavalry  to  accompany  them,  and  kept  good 


TBE  LOST  AR3IY.  241 

his  promise  tliat  tliey  should  not  run  tlie  same  risk  as  iu 
tlieir  trip  upward  from  the  army. 

Harry  and  Jack  were  not  forgetful  of  the  family  who 
fed  and  cared  for  them  on  the  occasion  when  the  latter 
"  played  crazy."  A  well- wrapped  package  containing  a 
pound  of  tea,  and  another  of  coffee,  was  fastened  behind 
Harry's  saddle,  and  while  on  the  way  Harry  told  the  cap- 
tain of  the  escort  all  about  their  adventure.  At  Harry's 
suggestion  the  boys  did  not  show  themselves  at  the  house, 
as  he  did  not  wish  the  people  to  know  that  they  had  been 
deceived  as  to  their  character.  The  escort  divided  a  little 
while  before  reaching  the  house,  and  while  one  squad 
went  there  and  delivered  the  parcel,  which  was  supposed 
to  have  been  sent  by  the  boys,  the  other  went  by  at  a  trot, 
the  youths  riding  so  that  they  were  screened  by  some  of 
the  men. 

The  boys  were  of  service  to  the  escort  in  showing  the 
way  to  the  haystack  which  they  discovered  in  the  forest, 
as  already  mentioned.  When  they  reached  it  they  had  a 
skirmish  with  a  party  of  guerrillas  who  had  already  found 
it,  and  were  camping  there  comfortably  with  their  saddles 
stripped  from  their  horses,  and  evidently  under  the  belief 
that  nobody  but  themselves  knew  where  it  was.  Our 
men  had  the  guerrillas  at  a  disadvantage,  and  the  fight 
resulted  badly  for  tlie  rebels ;  two  of  them  were  killed  and 
three  wounded,  while  on  our  side  only  one  man  was  hurt, 
and  he  but  slightly.  Ten  horses  were  captured  and  taken 
away  in  triumph ;  some  of  the  guerrillas  escaped  with 
their  steeds,  while  the  rest  fled  on  foot.  A  sharp  watch 
was  kept  through  the  night  lest  they  should  return  and 
renew  the  fight,  but  they  did  not  put  in  an  appearance. 

Just  as  they  were  starting  tlie  next  morning  Harry 
called  attention  to  a  cloud  of  dust  in  the  road  they  in- 
tended following,  and  it  was  immediately  surmised  that  an 
enemy  was  in  the  neighborhood.  Very  quickly  the  order 
16 


242  THE  LOST  AEM Y. 

to  mount  was  given  and  the  column  moved  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  suspicious  dust.  Hardly  had  they  reached  the 
road  before  a  crowd  of  horsemen  was  seen  approaching, 
and  then  both  sides  made  ready  for  a  fight. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  maneuveiing  for  the  advantage, 
and  both  parties  advanced  witli  great  caution.  A  few 
shots  were  exchanged  at  long  distances,  where  they  could 
not  possibly  do  any  harm,  but  simply  on  the  Chinese 
principle  of  letting  the  other  side  know  that  warm  work 
could  be  expected.  As  the  columns  drew  closer  together 
the  strangers  were  found  to  be  dressed  in  blue,  and  as 
they  made  a  similar  discovery  concerning  our  own  j)arty 
the  shooting  ceased.  A  flag  of  truce  was  then  sent  for- 
ward, accompanied  by  Harry,  to  meet  a  similar  flag  from 
the  other  side.  The  flags  inet  half-way  between  the  lines, 
and  it  was  quickly  ascertained  that  the  supposed  enemy 
was  a  scouting  party  sent  out  by  General  Curtis.  Harry 
recognized  the  bearers  of  the  flag,  and  there  was  a  vigor- 
ous hand-shaking  followed  by  a  signal  for  both  sides  to 
put  off  the  idea  of  fighting  for  the  present  unless  they 
could  find  somebody  else  to  fight  with. 

On  their  arrival  in  camp  Harry  and  Jack  reported  im- 
mediately to  General  Vandever,  and  then  to  General  Cur- 
tis, to  whom  they  delivered  the  dispatches  they  had 
brought  from  Fort  Scott.  The  general  questioned  them 
closely  in  regard  to  their  experiences,  and  laughed  heartily 
when  he  heard  of  Jack's  exploit  in  playing  crazy.  He 
thought  it  an  admirable  ruse,  but  said  it  could  not  be  tried 
on  very  often,  as  it  was  sure  to  leak  out.  Then  he  praised 
the  boys  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which  they  had 
pei-formed  their  difficult  task,  and  said  he  might  have 
occasion  to  call  on  them  again. 

"  I  'm  not  at  all  sure,"  said  Harry,  as  soon  as  the  boys 
were  by  themselves  once  more,  "  I  'm  not  sure  that  I  'm 
in  a  hurry  to  go  on  another  scouting  expedition ;  are  you  ?  " 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  243 

"  As  to  that,"  answered  Jack,  "  I  'd  like  a  little  rest  and 
a  chance  to  think  it  over.  But  after  I  've  rested  I  shall 
be  ready  to  try  it  on  once  more,  but  not  through  the  same 
country." 

"  I  don't  suppose  General  Curtis  would  send  us  that  way 
again,"  was  the  reply,  "  as  he  would  know  that  it  would 
be  doubly  dangerous  for  us,  since  we  've  been  seen  with 
the  cavalry  and  would  be  known  to  be  on  the  union  side. 
We  could  n't  make  anybody  believe  our  story  about  hunt- 
ing for  stolen  horses  from  Forsyth  way." 

On  the  day  of  their  return  to  camp  orders  were  is- 
sued for  the  army  to  be  ready  to  move  on  the  following 
morning.  The  boys  wondered  if  the  advance  upon  Little 
Rock  was  about  to  commence,  and  also  whether  the 
dispatches  they  brought  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
orders  to  march. 

But  the  development  of  events  did  not  indicate  that 
they  Avere  going  in  the  direction  of  the  Arkansas  capital, 
nor  yet  to  Fort  Scott  or  anywhere  near  it.  The  army 
moved  to  Forsyth,  in  Taney  county,  Missouri,  on  the 
banks  of  the  White  river,  and  nearly  due  east  from  Keits- 
ville,  where  the  camj)  had  been.  For  some  part  of  tlie 
way  the  principal  road,  follows  the  bank  of  the  river  and 
gives  pretty  glimpses  of  the  wooded  valley  and  the  mean- 
dering stream.  Like  most  of  the  southwestern  rivers,  the 
White  has  a  very  tortuous  course,  and  consequently  the 
road  rather  touched  upon  than  followed  the  stream ;  to 
have  done  the  latter  would  make  it  needlessly  long. 

There  was  no  enemy  of  consequence  along  the  line  of 
march,  and  therefore  no  opposition  was  expected  or  of- 
fered. Here  and  there  half-a-dozen  horsemen  were  seen, 
but  they  were  not  considered  worthy  of  attention.  For- 
syth was  occupied  until  the  army  received  a  supply  of 
stores  and  ammunition,  which  was  sent  from  Springfield 
by  a  somewhat  difficult  road  through  the  Ozark  mountains. 


244  THE  LOST  AEMY. 

Our  young  friends  went  with  dispatches  to  the  post 
commander  at  Springfield,  but  as  the  road  was  well 
guaixled  and  no  rebels  or  guerrillas  were  supposed  to  be 
in  the  neighborliood,  they  did  not  consider  the  journey  of 
any  serious  moment,  and  did  not  disguise  themselves. 
The  distance  is  about  fifty  miles,  and  they  took  a  part  of 
two  days  for  the  ride,  spending  the  night  at  Ozark,  which 
is  about  half-way  between  the  opposite  ends  of  the  route. 
There  was  so  much  up  and  down  hill  to  the  road  that 
they  did  not  find  it  an  easy  one  to  travel  in  a  hurry,  and 
besides,  they  were  carrying  out  the  orders  of  the  general 
in  spending  the  night  at  Ozark,  where  there  was  tempo- 
rarily a  garrison  of  fifteen  or  twenty  men, 

"  It  is  a  very  pretty  mountain  country,"  said  Harry 
afterwards,  when  speaking  of  the  journey,  "and  I  wished 
I  could  make  sketches  of  some  of  the  landscapes  along 
the  road.  In  some  places  you  look  down  a  long  distance 
in  the  valleys,  and  in  others  you  are  completely  shut 
in  and  wonder  how  you  will  ever  get  out  of  there.  An 
interesting  feature  of  the  country  is  the  large  springs  that 
abound  all  through  it ;  they  are  like  the  great  springs  we 
saw  at  Cross  Hollows  in  Arkansas,  and  doubtless  have  the 
same  sort  of  origin.  There  is  one  spring  near  the  village 
of  Ozark  which  forms  the  head  of  a  good-sized  brook,  just 
as  does  the  spring  at  the  head  of  Sugar  Creek." 

At  Springfield  they  found  very  little  change  in  the  state 
of  affairs  since  they  passed  through  the  town  on  their 
way  to  Sugar  Creek  and  Pea  Ridge.  The  garrison  had 
thrown  up  earthworks  to  protect  themselves  in  case  of 
an  attack  by  the  rebels,  as  it  was  thought  possible  that  a 
column  of  cavalry,  or  possibly  some  marauding  expedi- 
tions like  those  of  Quantrell  and  Todd,  might  take  a  no- 
tion to  pay  a  brief  visit  to  the  place,  and  the  commandant 
did  n't  propose  to  be  caught  napping.  The  supplies  for 
General  Curtis  were  being  pushed  forward  as  fast  as  pos- 


THE  LOST  AR3fr.  245 

sible,  but  the  bad  condition  of  tlie  roads  and  the  scarcity 
of  draft  animals  greatly  hindered  the  work.  jMules  and 
horses  were  in  great  demand,  and  considering  the  great 
numbers  of  these  animals  that  had  been  completely  worn 
out  and  used  up  in  the  arduous  service  of  transportation 
in  the  southwest,  the  great  wonder  is  that  supplies  could 
be  sent  forward  at  all. 

They  remained  two  days  in  Springfield  and  then  started 
on  their  return  to  Forsyth.  Not  dreaming  of  any  danger, 
they  did  not  deem  it  worth  their  Avhile  to  so  time  the 
journey  as  to  spend  the  night  under  the  protection  of  the 
guard  at  Ozark ;  instead  of  doing  so,  they  passed  through 
that  town  and  lodged  in  a  house  several  miles  beyond, 
where  they  had  an  exciting  adventure,  as  the  sequel  will 
show. 


246  THE  LOST  ABMY. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

A  TKEACHEROUS  HOST HOW  THE  BOYS  TURNED  THE 

TABLES. 

The  house  where  they  asked  for  entertainment  for  the 
night  was  a  two-story  frame  building,  and  belonged  to  a 
well-to-do  farmer,  who  was  the  owner  of  ten  or  twelve 
negroes,  and  therefore  one  of  the  aristocracy  of  southwest 
Missouri.  Being  an  owner  of  slaves,  he  was  naturally  in 
sympathy  with  secession,  though  he  professed  the  most 
ardent  unionism  whenever  he  was  visited  by  any  party  of 
soldiers  wearing  the  federal  blue.  His  family  consisted 
of  his  wife  and  two  daughters.  His  son  had  gone  to  join 
Price's  army,  and  the  father  took  great  pains  to  explain 
that  he  had  done  so  greatly  against  the  parental  will. 

The  pronounced  unionism  of  the  man  did  not  arouse 
any  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  Harry  and  Jack,  who 
talked  freely  with  him  during  and  after  the  supper  which 
was  set  before  them.  They  retired  early  to  bed,  as  they 
were  wearied  with  their  day's  ride  and  intended  to  be  off 
at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  so  as  to  reach  Forsyth  in 
good  season.  On  their  arrival,  before  dark,  they  accom- 
panied their  horses  to  the  barn  and  saw  them  fed  and 
cared  for  by  one  of  the  negroes,  whose  good  graces  they 
secured  'oy  slipping  a  quarter  into  his  hand.  They  took 
a  general  survey  of  the  barn  and  its  surroundings,  more 
from  habit  than  from  any  thought  that  such  knowledge 
might  be  useful  to  them  before  the  next  morning. 

The  room  where  they  slept  was  in  the  upper  story  of 


T^£I  LOST  AHMT.  ^47 

the  house,  and  there  was  a  wmclow  in  it  which  opened 
upon  a  shed  that  served  as  a  kitchen.  Tliere  was  no 
means  of  fastening  tlie  door,  and  neitlier  of  the  youths 
thought  there  was  any  special  occasion  for  securing  it,  as 
they  did  not  apprehend  any  disturbance  from  the  family, 
and  it  was  liardly  lilcely  that  an  outsider  could  nvdke  an 
entrance  without  being  stopped  by  some  one  below  stairs. 

They  threw  off  their  clothing  and  retired  to  the  double 
bed  which  stood  in  one  corner  of  the  apartment,  and  in 
less  than  five  minutes  both  were  sound  asleep.  Harry 
was  on  the  front  of  the  bed,  while  Jack  lay  next  to  the  wall. 

About  midnight  Harry  was  waked  by  a  hand  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  he  was  about  to  ask,  "  Who  's  there  ?  "  in  an 
audible  voice,  when  he  heard  a  gentle  "  Hush ! "  close  to 
his  ear. 

Instantly  collecting  his  thoughts,  he  asked,  in  the  same 
low  whisper : 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"  Hush !  don't  speak,  and  don't  move  till  I  've  been  gone 
five  minutes.     Keep  still,  and  listen." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Harry  ;  "  what 's  the  trouble?  " 

"  Father  's  gone  to  get  some  men,  avIio  '11  carry  you  off. 
They  are  hiding  in  the  woods  a  mile  or  so  back  from 
here,  and  he  's  just  gone  for  'em.  You  've  time  enough  to 
git  away,  and  you  'd  better  git." 

"  We  '11  git,  you  bet,"  answered  Harry ;  "  but  who  are 
you?" 

"Never  mind,"  was  the  soft  answer,  "I  'm  your 
friend,  that 's  all." 

"  I  want  to  know,"  said  Harry,  "  as  it  may  be  in  our 
power  to  do  you  or  your  people  service  some  time. 
You  may  be  sure  we  won't  betray  you." 

"  Well,  if  you  must  know,  I  'm  Cordelia,  the  youngest 

daughter  of  Mr. ,  who  is  such  a  Yankee  when  any  of 

you  fellers  comes  'round.     He 's  secesh  though,  and  so  are 


248  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

we  all,  for  that  matter ;  but  promise  me  you  won't  say  so 
to  anybody." 

Harry  made  the  required  promise,  and  then  Miss  Cor- 
delia explained  that  she  overheard  her  father  and  mother 
talking  about  how  they  could  have  the  young  Yanks 
carried  off  into  the  woods  and  kept  there.  "  I  did  n't  so 
much  mind  your  being  just  carried  off,"  she  added,  "  but 
I  didn't  know  but  they  might  kill  you  as  they've  killed 
some  of  the  union  men  about  here.  I  'd  taken  a  sort  o' 
liking  to  both  of  you,  and  did  n't  want  any  harm  to  come 
to  you.     And  that 's  why  I  came  and  told  you." 

"Now,"  she  added,  "I'll  creep  back  to  where  sister 
Jane  and  I  sleep,  and  you  must  n't  stir  for  live 
minutes.  Don't  try  to  go  downstairs  and  out  of  the 
house  that  way,  but  get  out  on  the  shed,  and  at  the 
further  end  of  it  you  '11  find  a  big  chimney  that's  built  up 
in  steps  like,  so  that  you  can  get  along  it  down  onto  the 
ground.  Then  find  your  horses  and  be  off  jest  as  quick  as 
you  can.  There  's  a  little  lane  from  the  back  of  the  barn 
that  goes  downhill,  and  if  you  keep  along  that  lane  and 
then  turn  to  the  right  where  it  forks,  you  '11  come  out  on 
the  main  road  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  house. 
Now,  good-bye !  " 

"  Good-bye  ! "  whispered  Harry,  "  and  be  sure  we  won't 
forget  your  kindness."  And  as  he  said  so  he  pressed  to 
his  lips  the  hand  that  had  been  resting  on  his  shoulder, 
and  which  he  took  hold  of  just  as  it  was  being 
removed. 

Then  he  roused  Jack,  who  would  have  spoken  aloud, 
had  not  Harry  pressed  a  hand  on  his  mouth  and  whispered, 
not  as  softly  as  the  recent  whispering  had  been,  that  he  'd 
better  shut  up.  As  soon  as  Jack  was  fairly  awake  the 
situation  was  explained,  and  the  five  minutes  in  which 
they  had  been  enjoined  to  lie  still  were  fully  taken  up  in 
laying  plans  for  getting  away. 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  249 

"  In  the  first  place,"  said  Harrj^,  "  we  ought  to  fasten 
the  door  of  the  room,  so  as  to  dehiy  our  would-be  captors 
as  long  as  possible." 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Jack  ;  "  but  how  '11  we  fasten  it  ?  " 

"  I  think  the  chair  will  do  it,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  at  any 
rate  I  '11  try  it.  "We  might  move  the  bed  against  the  door, 
but  in  doing  it  we  would  be  very  likely  to  make  a 
noise." 

They  dressed  themselves  quickly,  but  without  noise, 
occasionally  glancing  out  of  the  window  to  the  starlit  but 
moonless  sky.  "When  they  had  completed  their  toilets,  all 
but  putting  on  their  shoes,  Harry  leaned  the  chair  against 
the  door  and  found  it  made  an  excellent  wedge  beneath 
the  latch,  and  would  greatly  hinder  an  attempt  to  force 
an  entrance. 

"  That 's  a  splendid  way  to  fasten  a  door,"  whispered 
Harry.  "  I  got  the  idea  from  Mr.  Johnson,  a  commercial 
traveler,  who  used  to  come  to  father's  house.  He  said 
that  if  you  take  a  chair  or  a  strong  cane, — anything  in 
fact  that  will  go  under  the  latch  and  rest  on  the  floor  at  a 
sharp  angle, — it  will  defy  any  effort  to  open  the  door  short 
of  bursting  it  in." 

"  All  right,"  answered  Jack ;  let 's  have  short  talks  and 
quick  business." 

Then  they  opened,  and  very  softly  opened,  the  window, 
and  with  their  shoes  in  their  hands  stepped  out  on  the 
roof  of  the  shed.  Creeping  along  the  roof  they  reached 
the  chimney  without  making  a  sound,  and  found  the  place 
that  was  "  built  up  in  steps  like  "  and  facilitated  their 
descent  to  the  ground. 

There  they  sat  down  and  put  their  shoes  on,  and  then 
they  moved  in  the  direction  of  the  barn.  But  just  before 
reaching  it  they  heard  voices  that  made  them  pause. 
After  listening  a  moment  they  sought  shelter  behind  a 
broken  cart  that  offered  a  friendly  place  of  concealment. 


250  TUE  LOST  ARMT. 

A  group  of  five  men  on  horseback  came  up  and  drew 
rein  within  a  few  feet  of  where  the  youths  were  lying. 
Tliey  talked  in  low  tones,  but  loud  enough  to  be  distinctly 
heard,  and  both  Harry  and  Jack  perceived  that  one  of 
the  voices  belonged  to  their  host. 

"  We  'd  better  get  their  horses  out  first  and  saddle  'em," 

said  Mr. (we  '11  call  him  Jones,  but  that  was  n't   his 

name  or  anything  like  it),  "  and  then  you  won't  have  to  do 
it  afterwards.  I  can  help  you  now,  but  could  n't  when  the 
young  Yanks  are  looking  on." 

"  All  right,  squire,"  was  the  answer,  and  with  that  all 
slid  down  from  their  horses.  The  bridles  were  placed  in 
the  hands  of  one  who  appeared  to  be  the  youngest,  as  he 
certainly  was  the  smallest,  of  the  party,  and  the  others 
proceeded  to  bring  out  and  saddle  the  horses  of  Harry 
and  Jack. 

When  this  had  been  done  Mr,  Jones  suggested  that  all 
the  horses  should  be  tied  to  the  fence  close  to  the  barn,  so 
that  Billy,  the  man  who  had  been  holding  the  five  steeds, 
could  be  free  to  help  them  in  case  there  was  occasion  for 
anything.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  Billy  was  left  to 
watch  outside  while  the  rest  of  the  party  entered  the 
house.  Mr.  Jones  was  to  retire  to  bed  and  thus  give 
the  capture  the  aspect  of  something  that  had  been 
done  against  his  will.  In  case  of  any  outside  alarm, 
Billy  was  to  strike  against  the  barn-door  three  times  ;  it 
had  been  proposed  to  fire  a  shot  from  his  rifle,  but  on  care- 
ful consideration  it  was  thought  the  other  signal  would 
answer  just  as  well  and  be  less  suspicious  to  ears  for 
which  it  was  not  intended. 

The  four  disappeared  in  the  direction  of  the  house,  and 
from  their  place  of  concealment  Harry  and  Jack  surveyed 
the  scene  and  formed  their  plans.  Having  nothing  else 
to  do,  the  five  horses  of  the  guerrillas  w^ere  inclined  to 
quarrel  with  the  two  strange  ones,  and  the   disturbance 


THE  LOST  AHMT.  251 

they  made  gave  onr  friends  an  opportunity  to  whisper 
easily  to  each  other,  without  danger  of  being  overheard  by 
Billy. 

"  We  must  watch  our  chance,"  said  Harry,  "  and  jump 
on  his  shoulders  so  as  to  bear  him  to  the  ground  before 
he  can  call  out  for  help." 

"  That  won't  do,"  said  Jack,  "  as  he  might  give  a  yell  as 
he  goes  down.  Better  drop  him  with  a  club,  and  then 
he  '11  be  senseless  the  moment  it  hits  him  and  will  stay 
so  long  enough  for  us  to  get  away,  and  there  '11  be  no 
danger  of  his  hollering." 

Harry  did  not  altogether  like  the  idea  of  the  club,  but 
he  realized  that  it  M^as  a  case  of  self-preservation,  and  the 
treatment  was  no  worse  than  what  Mr.  Billy  would  be 
ready  to  apply  to  them  without  the  least  compunction. 
So  he  assented  to  Jack's  proposal,  and  the  two  armed 
themselves  with  clubs,  which  were  conveniently  furnished 
by  the  spokes  of  a  crushed  wheel  of  the  cart. 

"  I  reckon  them  strange  horse  shad  better  be  a  little 
further  off,"  said  Billy  to  himself,  "  and  then  there  won't 
be  so  much  furse." 

Suiting  the  action  to  his  thought,  he  proceeded  to  sepa- 
rate the  old  from  the  new,  and  while  he  was  occupied  with 
this  prudential  duty  Harry  and  Jack  crept  up  behind  him 
and,  at  an  opportune  moment,  felled  him  with  a  blow  from 
one  of  the  cart-spokes.  He  went  down  without  a  sound  ; 
in  less  than  a  minute  a  handkerchief  had  been  tied  across 
his  mouth,  in  which  a  corncob  was  inserted  as  a  gag,  his 
hands  were  securely  fastened  behind  him,  and  his  feet 
were  tied  together.  He  was  not  likely  to  give  an  alarm, 
no  matter  how  soon  he  revived. 

Harry  and  Jack  then  took  possession  of  the  seven 
horses,  mounting  their  own  and  leading  the  other  five. 
Harry  took  charge  of  three,  and  left  the  other  two  to 
Jack.    They  went  at  a  walk  down  the  lane  which  the 


25^  TBE  LOST  ARMY. 

girl  had  indicated,  and  on  reaching  tlie  high-road  quick- 
ened their  pace  as  much  as  tlie  led  horses  would 
permit, 

"  It  was  very  kind  of  them  to  saddle  our  horses  for 
us,"  said  Jack,  "  and  to  save  us  any  trouble  about  it." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Harry,  "  and  I  'd  give  one  of  their 
saddles  to  hear  their  remarks  when  they  find  we  're  not 
in  the  house,  and  come  outside  and  see  tlie  way  that 
Billy  is  waiting  for  them." 

"  I  'm  afraid  their  remarks  will  not  be  of  a  Sunday- 
school  character,"  was  Jack's  answer,  "  nor  very  respect- 
ful to  us." 


THE  LOST  ABMT.  253 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

CONVICTED    BY     A    DUISIB    WITNESS SHORT    RATIONS A 

CAPTURE. 

The  boys  pushed  on  as  fast  as  they  could,  but  it  was  not 
possible  to  make  so  good  time  with  so  many  horses  to  lead 
as  though  they  had  been  unencumbered.  But  they  had  a 
good  start  at  any  rate,  and  besides,  they  had  brought  away 
the  horses  of  their  would-be  captors,  and  thus  diminished 
the  chances  of  pursuit. 

"  Those  fellows  from  the  woods  have  n't  any  horses  to 
follow  us  with,  that 's  certain,"  said  Harry ;  "  but  there 's 
no  telling  how  many  our  late  host  may  have  in  his 
barn,  or  close  by  in  the  brush." 

"  That 's  so,"  answered  Jack ;  "  but  I  don't  believe  he 
has  many.  There  was  only  one  in  the  barn  when  we 
put  up  our  horses,  and  we  've  got  him  along  with  us.  But 
quite  likely  he  has  some  out  in  the  brush,  and  they  may 
scare  up  two  or  three  saddles  and  come  after  us.  What 
shall  we  do  if  they  turn  up  ?  " 

"  Let  their  horses  go,  and  cut  for  Forsyth  as  fast  as  we 
can,"  said  Harry ;  "  that 's  the  only  thing  I  can  suggest,  or 
at  any  rate  the  safest  thing.  They  '11  stop  to  get  their 
horses,  and  we  '11  easily  outrun  them." 

Jack  agreed  to  the  suggestion,  and  it  was  resolved 
to  put  it  into  practice  in  case  of  necessity.  As  time  went 
on  it  was  evident  that  Mr.  Jones  did  n't  have  any  extra 
horses  handy,  as  there  were  no  indications  of  pursuit,  and 
as  daylight  approached  the  boys  began  to  feel  safe.  Every 


254  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

hour  brought  them  nearer  the  camp  of  the  army,  and  they 
knew  that  once  within  the  hues  they  could  tell  their  story 
in  perfect  security. 

Suddenly  tliey  heard  the  sound  of  horses'  feet  behind 
them,  and  as  they  looked  back  they  saw  three  or  four 
men  riding  rapidly  in  their  direction.  The  glance  showed 
that  the  men  were  in  the  costume  of  the  country,  and 
quite  likely  they  were  the  pursuers  whom  the  boys 
dreaded. 

"  We  're  in  for  it  now,"  exclaimed  Harry.  "  Let  go 
your  horses  and  I  '11  let  go  mine." 

"  Not  much,"  answered  Jack  ;  "  just  look  ahead." 

Harry  looked  and  saw  approaching  from  the  other 
direction  a  squad  of  ten  or  twelve  cavalry  in  the  Union 
blue. 

Harry  wanted  to  shout,  "  Hurrah  !  "  but  just  then  he 
was  too  much  occupied  to  do  it.  He  took  in  the  situa- 
tion in  an  instant ;  they  were  about  equally  distant  from 
their  pursuers  and  the  cavalry,  and  the  advantage  in  their 
favor  was  that  they  could  get  to  the  shelter  of  their  friends 
before  they  could  possibly  be  overtaken  by  the  bush- 
whackers. The  latter  also  saw  the  predicament  they 
were  in  and  innnediately  checked  their  speed.  The 
sergeant  of  the  cavalry  saw  that  there  was  something 
wrong,  and  he  and  his  men  came  forward  at  a  gallop. 

"  Go  for  those  fellows  and  I  '11  explain  afterwards," 
said  Harry,  as  the  sergeant  drew  rein  near  him.  The  ser- 
geant recognized  the  youths  and  did  not  Avait  for  further 
words.  Away  went  the  cavalry  in  chase,  and  in  a  little 
while  returned  with  two  captured  horses  and  one  man,  the 
rest  having  got  away. 

The  cavalry  squad  accompanied  the  boys  to  the  picket 
line,  which  was  only  half  a  mile  further  along  the  road. 
The  picket-guard  was  just  then  being  relieved,  and  the 
prisoner  was  turned  over  to  it  and  sent  to  camp  along 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  255 

with  the  captured  horses.  The  squad  then  proceeded  on 
the  foraging  expedition  for  whicli  it  liad  started  when  it 
so  opportunely  met  our  young  friends  and  saved  them 
from  trouble.  The  boys  went  triumphantly  to  General 
Vandever  with  their  prizes,  and  told  the  story  of  their  ad- 
venture to  a  group  of  interested  listeners.  They  were  the 
heroes  of  the  day,  and  received  a  liberal  amount  of  praise 
for  the  shrewd  manner  in  which  they  not  only  got  out  of 
their  predicament,  but  turned  it  to  their  advantage.  Of 
course  they  carefully  concealed  the  part  which  the  girl 
played  in  warning  them,  but  pretended  that  they  over- 
heard the  conversation  between  Mr.  Jones  and  his  wife 
after  they  had  retired  and  were  supposed  to  be  in  bed. 

The  prisoner  stoutly  denied  any  complicity  in  the  at- 
tempted capture  of  the  youths,  and  professed  the  most 
thorough  ignorance  of  them  or  any  desire  to  pursue  and  re- 
take the  runaways.  -He  explained  that  he  and  his  friends 
had  come  from  Douglas  county  in  search  of  some  stray 
cattle,  and  were  just  on  the  point  of  turning  back  when 
they  saw  the  boys  and  a  moment  afterward  the  cavalry. 

There  was  nothing  to  disprove  his  story,  and  no  evi- 
dence against  him  except  the  circumstantial  evidence  that 
he  and  his  friends  were  riding  very  rapidly  toward  the 
youths  before  they  saw  the  cavalry,  and  tried  hard  to  get 
away  immediately  afterwards.  If  their  mission  was  an 
innocent  one,  there  was  no  reason  for  their  fast  riding  ; 
and  furthermore  they  had  no  need  to  be  as  alarmed  as 
they  were  on  seeing  the  soldiers.  But  of  course  this 
was  only  circumstantial,  and  he  might  have  been  released 
but  for  a  suggestion  from  Harry,  on  which  action  was  im- 
mediately taken. 

The  five  horses  which  Harry  and  Jack  had  secured  at 
the  time  of  their  hasty  flight  from  Mr.  Jones's  house  were 
turned  loose  in  the  yard  ;  they  had  not  been  fed  since  their 
night- journey,  and  might  fairly  be  supposed  to  be  hungry. 


256  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

Soon  after  they  had  thus  been  put  by  themselves  the 
officer  wlio  had  charge  of  the  prisoner  suggested  that 
they  would  go  and  see  what  the  general  had  to  say  on  the 
subject  of  liberating  the  captive.  As  if  by  accident  they 
crossed  the  yard  where  the  horses  where  inclosed,  the  pris- 
oner not  suspecting  the  trick  and  being  too  intent  on  his 
release  to  observe  the  presence  of  the  captured  animals, 
especially  as  they  were  mingled  with  some  ten  or  twelve 
others. 

As  they  entered  the  yard  one  of  the  horses  came 
familiarly  up  to  the  prisoner,  rubbed  his  nose  against  the 
man's  shoulder,  and  in  other  ways  gave  most  positive 
testimony  that  he  had  found  his  master.  The  identifica- 
tion of  the  man  by  the  horse  was  complete.  As  the 
oflBcer  and  his  charge  walked  around  the  yard  and  then 
out  of  it,  the  horse  followed  like  a  dog ;  and  though  the 
man  protested  that  he  had  never  before  set  eyes  on  the 
animal,  the  evidence  was  altogether  too  strong  against 
him  to  be  doubted. 

"  That 's  enough,"  said  the  officer,  when  the  horse  had 
followed  the  man  for  five  or  six  minutes.  "  We'll  hold  on 
to  you  for  a  while  and  see  what  '11  turn  up.  Guess  we'll 
send  you  to  St.  Louis  and  have  you  tried  for  bush- 
whacking." 

At  this  the  fellow  broke  down  and  confessed  to  his  con- 
nection with  the  plan  for  abducting  the  boys.  Then  he 
was  plied  with  questions,  and  before  his  inquisitors  were 
through  with  him  they  had  elicited  a  good  deal  of  valuable 
information.  On  the  strength  of  this  information  an 
expedition  was  immediately  sent  out,  which  succeeded 
in  capturing  a  small  camp  and  securing  a  goodly  supply 
of  provisions  that  had  been  accumulated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  sending  to  Price's  army  as  soon  as  the  way 
was  open.  Altogether  tlie  performance  of  Harry  and 
Jack    on     that    memorable    night  "panned   out"    very 


TUKNING    THE    TABLES. 


ra;i<   251. 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  257 

well,  to  use    the   expression   of   a   gold-miner  belonging 
to  one  of  the  companies  of  the  Ninth  Iowa. 

A  few  days  after  the  occurrences  above  narrated  the 
army  moved  to  Batesville,  Arkansas,  farther  down  the 
White  river,  and  at  a  point  where  General  Curtis  expect- 
ed to  be  met  by  gun-boats  convoying  steamers  with  sup- 
plies and  ammunition  for  his  army.  No  enemy  opposed 
them,  and  there  were  no  incidents  of  consequence  on  the 
march.  There  was  a  small  force  of  rebel  cavalry  in 
the  town,  but  it  fled  before  the  advance  of  the  army 
after  firing  a  few  shots,  which  did  no  harm  to  any  one. 

Harry  and  Jack  now  believed  that  the  long-talked-of 
advance  on  Little  Rock  had  begun.  Batesville  is  about 
one  hundred  miles  from  that  city,  and  if  unopposed  in  its 
march,  the  army  could  easily  reach  it  in  a  week  or  ten 
days.  The  rumor  went  through  the  army  that  Little 
Rock  was  the  objective  point  of  the  campaign,  and  bets 
were  freely  offered  that  the  stars  and  stripes  would  float 
over  the  capital  of  Arkansas  long  before  the  fourth  of 
July. 

But  there  were  serious  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
advance  in  the  desired  direction.  In  the  first  place,  the 
river  was  unusually  low  for  that  season  of  the  year,  as 
it  had  only  four  feet  of  water  in  the  channel,  while  the 
gun-boats  and  most  of  the  transports  needed  not  less  than 
five  or  six  feet.  One  of  the  gun-boats  that  tried  to  ascend 
the  river  was  blown  up  by  a  rebel  battery  at  St.  Charles, 
and  the  transports  could  not  move  without  the  aid  of  their 
armed  brothers.  Tlie  wagon  road  to  Eolla  was  a  long  one 
and  open  to  interruptions  by  raiding  bands  of  rebels. 
One  entire  train  was  captured  and  destroyed  by  them 
within  thirty  miles  of  Rolla,  and  other  trains  were  more 
or  less  interfered  with.  The  army  was  short  of  food  and 
ammunition,  and  in  such  a  condition  it  could  not  take  the 
often  sive. 
17 


258  THE  LOST  AB3IY. 

To  add  to  General  Curtis's  perplexities  a  part  of  his 
army  (ten  regiments)  were  ordered  to  join  the  forces  of 
General  IIalleck,tlien  besieging  Corinth,  ]Mississippi,  and 
to  move  with  all  possible  haste.  They  were  ordered  in  the 
direction  of  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  two  hundred  and 
forty  miles  away.  They  performed  the  march  in  ten  days, 
an  average  of  twenty-four  miles  a  day,  which  may  be 
considered  oue  of  the  best  instances  of  marching  during 
the  war.  Many  of  the  men  wore  out  their  shoes  on  the 
journey,  and  were  barefooted  for  the  last  fifty  or  sixty 
miles.  The  withdrawal  of  this  force,  added  to  the  scar- 
city of  provisions  and  ammunition,  made  the  army  too 
weak  to  venture  upon  Little  Rock,  and  General  Curtis 
began  to  turn  his  eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  Mississippi 
river. 

The  army  remained  seven  weeks  at  Batesville,  and 
during  that  period  it  sent  out  many  foraging  expeditions, 
in  the  hope  of  collecting  provisions  enough  to  subsist  it 
without  drawing  upon  its  scanty  supply  of  rations  which  it 
had  received  from  Rolla.  But  in  spite  of  all  efforts  the 
supply  could  not  be  maintained,  and  many  a  time  the 
soldiers  had  to  live  two  days  upon  food  that  would  have 
been  no  more  than  enough  for  one.  The  gun-boats  and 
the  transports  did  not  come,  and  instead  of  rising  the 
river  continued  to  fall. 

Harry  and  Jack  accompanied  many  of  the  foraging 
expeditions,  and,  on  several  occasions,  they  were  of  much 
practical  service.  Harry  was  able  to  find  concealed  stores 
of  pork  and  bacon  where  others  declared  there  was 
nothing,  and  one  day  Jack  brought  from  under  a  heap  of 
straw  suflBcient  bacon  to  feed  a  whole  regiment  for  nearly 
a  week.  Harry  had  a  keen  eye  for  chickens,  and  when- 
ever he  went  on  a  tour  it  was  a  noticeable  circumstance 
that  General  Vandever  usually  had  chicken  that  day  for 
supper.    Jack  was  as  sharp  after  pigs  as  Harry  was  for 


THE  LOST  AR3IY.  259 

chickens,  and  many  were  the  young  porkers  that  fell  into 
his  hands. 

One  day  they  ran  into  a  scouting  party  of  rebels,  and 
the  foraging  party  had  a  sharp  skirmish  with  their 
adversaries  over  the  possession  of  a  haystack.  The 
rebels  were  discomfited  and  the  unionists  secured  the  cov- 
eted prize,  but  not  until  three  of  their  number  had  been 
wounded,  one  of  them  severely.  The  rebels  suffered  to 
the  extent  of  having  two  men  killed,  two  or  three  wound- 
ed and  four  captured.  The  prisoners  were  taken  back  to 
camp  under  guard  of  two  soldiers,  assisted  by  our  young 
friends,  who  kept  a  sharp  watch  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  captives.  During  the  march  Harry  fell  into  conver- 
sation with  one  of  them,  and  very  soon  learned  some- 
thing that  caused  him  to  open  his  eyes  with  astonish- 
ment. 


260  THE  LOST  ABMY. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

RETURNING    CORDELIA' S    KINDNESS JACK    AND    HARRY    ON    A 

NAVAL    EXPEDITION. 

But  though  he  opened  his  eyes  with  astonishment,  he 
did  not  open  his  lips  to  say  why  he  did  so.  To  have  done 
so  would  liave  been  imprudent  to  the  last  degree. 

The  question  to  the  prisoner  had  revealed  the  fact  that 
the  captive  whom  Harry  was  so  closely  guarding  was  the 
son  of  Mr.  Jones,  the  treacherous  host  from  whom  the 
two  youths  had  had  such  a  narrow  escape,  and  the  brother 
of  the  girl  who  had  given  them  tlie  hint  which  led  to 
their  hasty  departure.  He  had  joined  Price's  army  as 
originally  intended,  and  was  serving  with  a  cavalry  regi- 
ment that  had  been  assigned  to  the  duty  of  harassing  the 
union  forces  and  preventing  their  obtaining  the  supplies 
they  desired.  His  company  was  the  one  with  which  the 
union  cavalry  had  disputed  the  possession  of  the  haystack, 
as  described  in  the  last  chapter. 

"  Now,"  thought  Harry,  "  I  've  got  a  chance  to  pay  olf 
the  girl  for  her  kindness  to  us.  I  '11  get  her  brother  free 
and  send  him  home  to  her.  He  '11  never  know  how  it 
came  about,  but  I  'm  sure  she  '11  understand." 

Further  questioning  showed  that  another  of  the  pris- 
oners was  a  near  neighbor  of  young  Jones,  and  that  he 
was  very  much  attached  to  Miss  Cordelia ;  in  fact,  the 
twain  were  lovers,  and  this  circumstance  determined 
Harry  on  his  course  of  action,  and  on  the  way  to  Bates- 
ville  he  studied  how  best  to  accomplish  his  object. 


THE  LOST  AR3iT.  261 

He  found  that  the  young  fellows  were  heartily  tired  of 
the  war,  and  wanted  to  go  home;  this  Avas  particularly 
the  case  with  the  young  lover,  whose  interest  was 
greatly  roused  when  he  found  that  Harry  had  seen 
the  girl  he  left  behind  him.  Harry  gave  no  particulars  of 
his  acquaintance  with  her,  other  than  that  he  had  stopped 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Jones  on  his  way  from  Springfield  to 
Forsyth,  and  remembered  seeing  a  young  girl  such  as 
the  prisoner  described,  or  rather  such  as  her  brother 
told  about.  He  said  he  could  not  remember  the  name,  but 
thought  it  was  Corinne,  or  Cor — something  or  other. 

The  prisoners  were  fearful  that  something  terrible 
would  happen  to  them,  as  they  had  heard  the  usual  wild 
stories  about  the  barbarity  of  the  Yankees.  Harry  en- 
couraged their  belief  as  far  as  he  thought  judicious,  in 
order  to  make  them  all  the  more  grateful  for  any  service 
he  might  render  them.  He  promised  to  do  his  best  to  save 
them  from  being  hanged  or  shot,  and  suggested  that  a 
great  deal  would  depend  on  their  conduct. 

"  If  you  try  to  escape,"  said  he,  "  you  will  be  shot  down 
at  once  ;  but"  if  you  obey  orders  and  do  exactly  what  is 
told  you  without  question,  you  '11  find  it  to  your  advan- 
tage." 

They  promised  everything  he  asked  of  them,  and 
on  reaching  camp  they  went  denmrely  to  the  quarters 
assigned  them,  and  made  not  the  least  trouble.  As  soon 
as  he  was  relieved  of  his  charges  Harry  went  straight  to 
General  Vandever  and  asked  to  see  him  privately,  a 
request  which  the  general  readily  granted. 

Under  the  seal  of  confidence  Harry  then  told  the  whole 
story  of  how  he  and  Jack  had  been  saved  from  capture  by 
the  warning  given  by  Cordelia,  and  how  two  of  the  pris- 
oners then  in  camp  were  the  brother  and  lover  of  the 
warm-hearted  girl.  He  wanted  them  set  free  as  a 
return  for  the  service  she  had  rendered  the  two  youths, 


262  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

but  at  the  same  time  he  specially  desired  that  neither 
the  prisoners  nor  any  one  else  should  know  or  suspect  the 
real  reason  of  his  request. 

"  We  can  easily  arrange  that,"  answered  the  general. 
"  I  '11  see  General  Curtis  and  ask  him  to  turn  the  pris- 
oners over  to  me,  to  do  with  as  I  think  best  :  I  've  no 
doubt  he  '11  do  it,  and  if  he  does  there  won't  be  any 
trouble  about  the  other  details." 

An  hour  later  the  general  sent  for  Harry,  who  respond- 
ed with  alacrity  to  the  call. 

"  It 's  all  right,"  said  the  general,  as  soon  as  Harry  came 
into  his  presence.  "  The  five  horses  that  you  and  Jack 
captured  that  night  are  worth  more  to  us  than  the  pris- 
oners; the  men  might  not  like  to  know  they  've  been 
traded  for  horses,  but  that 's  the  way  I  look  at  it.  Go 
and  see  if  you  can  get  the  prisoners  to  take  an  oath  not  to 
serve  in  the  rebel  armies  again  during  the  war,  and 
you  may  tell  them  they  '11  be  released  if  they  '11  do  it." 

Harry  went  at  once  to  the  guard-house,  where  the 
prisoners  were  confined,  and  it  did  not  take  long  for 
them  to  make  the  desired  promise.  He  explained  that  he 
had  urged  their  case  before  the  general,  and  had  persuaded 
the  latter  to  grant  his  request  on  condition  that  they 
went  home  at  once  and  stayed  there,  and  furthermore, 
that  they  signed  the  required  oath  and  gave  no  further 
aid  in  any  way  to  the  war. 

This  being  arranged  the  prisoners  were  taken  before 
General  Vandever,  who  gave  them  a  sevei-e  lecture, 
pretended  he  was  opposed  to  letting  them  loose,  but 
had  only  done  so  at  the  urgent  request  of  Harry,  who  be- 
lieved them  to  be  honest,  but  misguided,  and  who  felt 
sure  they  would  live  up  to  their  promise.  There  was  much 
more  talk  to  the  same  effect,  all  tending  to  show  that  they 
owed  their  liberation  to  Harry  and  Jack  ;  and  finally  the 
papers  were  signed,  the  oath  was  taken,  and  the  x^risoners 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  263 

were  escorted  to  the  lines  and  allowed  to  go  on  their  way 
toward  Forsyth  and  home. 

It  was  afterward  ascertained  that  the  arrival  of  the 
pair  at  the  Jones'  mansion  was  the  cause  of  great  astonish- 
ment to  the  family,  and  especially  to  the  senior  Jones, 
who  had  been  in  mortal  terror  ever  since  that  night,  for 
fear  that  the  youths  would  cause  his  house  to  be  burned 
over  his  head  in  revenge  for  his  treachery.  Cordelia 
blushed  down  to  the  roots  of  her  hair,  but  her  blushes 
were  attributed  to  her  joy  at  seeing  her  lover  and  brother 
safe  at  home  from  the  wars.  No  one  had  the  slightest  sus- 
picion that  she  had  aught  to  do  with  the  escape  of  the 
youths  and  the  capture  of  the  horses.  As  the  returned 
soldiers  babbled  on  about  the  kindness  of  Harry,  and 
how  he  had  brought  about  their  liberation,  the  tears 
came  into  her  eyes,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
she  preserved  her  composure. 

As  before  stated,  the  army  in  camp  at  Bates ville,  Aveak- 
ened  by  the  withdrawal  of  a  portion  of  its  numbers, 
which  were  sent  to  aid  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and,  being 
short  of  provisions  and  ammunition,  was  in  no  condition 
to  advance  upon  Little  Rock.  Its  onl}^  Hue  of  march  was 
back  to  liolla,  or  through  the  country  that  lay  between  it 
and  the  JMississippi  river.  The  movement  upon  Rolla 
would  be  a  retrograde  one,  while  that  toward  the  Missis- 
sippi would  be  an  advance;  consequently  the  latter  was 
selected  without  hesitation. 

From  the  sixth  of  May  until  the  twenty-fourth  of  June 
the  army  lay  at  Batesville,  making  preparations  for  its 
future  movements.  Word  came  that  gun-boats  and 
transports  were  ascending  the  White  river,  and  would 
probably  come  to  Jacksonport,  which  is  twenty-five  miles 
below  Batesville  and  at  the  junction  of  the  White  with 
the  Black  river.  For  ten  days  previous  to  the  departure 
from  Batesville,  Captain  Winslow,  the   quartermaster-in- 


264  THE  LOST  ABMY. 

chief  of  General  Curtis's  army,  bought  corn  and  other 
provisions,  and  saved  the  army  rations  so  that  he  liad 
enough  on  hand  for  a  twenty  days'  supply,  which  was 
considered  sufficient  to  carry  them  through  to  Helena,  on 
the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  in  case  the  gun-boats  and 
transports  should  fail  to  reach  Jacksonport.  As  subse- 
quent events  developed,  this  precaution  was  a  wise  one. 

For  the  first  time  in  its  history  this  part  of  Arkansas 
was  honored  witli  a  navy.  General  Curtis  built  five  large 
flat-boats,  with  strong  decks,  partly  for  the  transportation 
of  supplies  and  partly  for  use  as  pontoons  in  case  a  river 
was  to  be  crossed.  Cotton  bales  were  ranged  around  their 
sides  and  firmly  fastened,  as  a  protection  against  mus- 
ketry in  case  the  rebels  should  attempt  to  hinder  tlieir  prog- 
ress, and  it  was  thought  they  would  even  be  able  to  stop 
cannon-shot  of  the  smaller  calibers.  There  were  no  naval 
officers  and  sailors  with  the  army,  and  so  it  was  necessary 
to  improvise  them.  There  was  a  liberal  number  of 
volunteers  for  the  new  service,  as  it  jjromised  to  be  excit- 
ing and  was  certainly  novel. 

Captain  Wadsworth,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  was  put 
in  command  of  the  fleet,  and  his  company  formed  the 
crew.  Harry  and  Jack  were  accepted  as  volunteers  to 
aid  in  navigating  the  boats,  each  of  which  was  provided 
with  sweeps,  or  long  oars,  that  were  necessary  to  keep  it 
in  the  channel.  Some  of  the  old  soldiers  were  accustomed 
to  flat-boat  navigation  on  the  Mississippi,  and  felt  confi- 
dent they  could  avoid  getting  ashore ;  but,  of  course,  it 
was  unknown  what  the  rebels  might  do  to  hinder  their 
progress. 

Harry  was  half  inclined  to  back  out  when  he  found  that 
the  road  from  Batesville  to  Jacksonport  did  not  follow 
the  bank  of  the  river,  but  wound  among  the  hills  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  it.  In  case  of  an  attack  upon  the 
naval  forces  of  General  Curtis  the  army  would  not  be 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  265 

near  enough  to  furnish  any  eflficient  aid,  except  in  a  few 
places.  But,  having  agreed  to  go,  he  said  nothing;  nei- 
ther did  Jack. 

The  advance  of  the  army  moved  out  of  Batesville  on 
the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  June.  Then  came 
each  of  the  three  divisions  in  its  order,  and  hy  noon  the 
town  was  deserted.  The  navy  pushed  off  from  the  shore 
and  floated  slowly  down  the  stream,  the  captain,  Avho  had 
been  promoted  by  his  associates  to  the  rank  of  admiral, 
ordering  his  men  to  make  no  exertions  at  the  oars  other 
than  might  be  necessary  to  keep  their  craft  in  the  cur- 
rent. Some  of  the  natives  of  the  country  offered  to  assist 
as  pilots,  and  one  of  them  who  claimed  to  know  all  about 
the  river  was  taken  aboard  the  "Cordelia,"  the  boat  where 
Harry  and.  Jack  were  serving,  and  to  which  they  had 
given  the  name.  He  was  so  enormously  fat  that  Jack 
suggested  he  should  be  called  Pauncheous  Pilot,  but  he 
was  careful  to  keep  the  suggestion  from  the  ears  of  the 
subject  of  it. 

The  youths  had  intrusted  their  horses  to  the  care  of  two 
of  their  comrades,  as  it  was  not  practicable  to  take  them 
on  board  the  "Cordelia,"  which  had  only  sufficient  room 
for  her  crew  and  was  encumbered  with  boxes  and  other 
freight.  Convenient  loopholes  had  been  made  between 
the  bales  of  cotton,  so  that  the  occupants  of  the  boats 
could  defend  themselves  from  musketry  fire  without  seri- 
ous risk.  The  oars  or  sweeps  were  operated  in  openings 
between  the  bales  somewhat  Mdder  than  the  loopholes, 
and  movable  screens  of  thick  plank  were  arranged  so  that 
the  oarsmen  would  be  fairly  well  protected. 


266  THE  LOST  ARMY, 


CHAPTER  XXXVITJ. 

THE  BOATS  UNDER  FIKE IMPORTANT  INFORMATION. 

There  was  a  shot  from  the  bank.  The  soldiers  sprang 
to  their  arras  and  places,  and  everybody  was  ready  for 
business  in  a  moment.  The  shot  had  been  fired  from  a 
clump  of  trees  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and  as  the 
trees  were  encumbered  witli  thick  underbrush  it  was  im- 
possible to  see  any  one  who  might  be  lurking  there. 

The  river  at  this  point  was  not  more  than  fifty  yards  in 
width,  so  that  any  assailants  would  have  the  boats  in 
very  short  range.  But  not  another  shot  was  heard,  and 
as  the  boats  one  after  another  drifted  past  the  point,  their 
crews  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  bushwhackers  had 
concluded  to  seek  safety  in  flight,  or,  what  amounted  to 
the  same  thing,  by  making  no  further  demonstration. 

A  mile  or  so  farther  down  two  of  the  boats  went 
aground  on  a  bar,  and  it  required  a  great  deal  of  effort  to 
get  them  off.  Had  tliey  been  attacked  at  this  point  they 
would  have  been  at  a  disadvantage,  as  their  assailants 
could  have  chosen  their  own  distance,  and  had  the  pro- 
tection of  tlie  trees  and  brushwood  along  the  banks. 
Harry  and  Jack  began  to  wish  tliey  had  stuck  to  the  road 
rather  than  essayed  naval  service  in  Arkansas  waters, 
where  there  was  no  chance  of  running  away  in  case  the 
enemy  proved  too  strong  for  them.  If  they  could  not  re- 
sist successfully  they  had  no  alternative  but  to  surrender ; 
and,  as  Harry  expressed  it,  they  didn't  like  to  "go 
around  surrendering." 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  267 

An  hour  or  more  was  lost  at  the  point  where  the  boats 
took  the  ground,  and  when  night  came  on  little  more  than 
half  the  distance  to  Jacksonport  had  been  accomplished. 
The  boats  were  tied  up  to  the  northern  bank,  which  was 
considered  safer  than  the  southern  one,  at  a  point  not 
moi-e  than  a  mile  from  the  road  taken  by  the  army.  The 
chance  of  bushwackers  venturing  so  near  was  not  great, 
but  a  careful  watch  was  kept  to  avoid  surprise. 

Early  next  morning  the  boats  were  under  way  again, 
and  before  nightfall  they  had  arrived  safely  at  Jackson- 
port, where  the  advance  of  the  army  had  encamped  and 
was  waiting  for  the  rest  of  the  column  and  also  for  the 
boats. 

The  union  of  the  Black  river  with  the  White  did  not 
give  sufficient  water  for  the  steamboats  with  supplies  to 
ascend  from  below,  and  General  Curtis  learned  that  they 
could  not  be  expected  to  come  further  up  than  Clarendon, 
seventy-five  miles  below  Jacksonport.  The  only  thing  to 
do  was  to  follow  the  road  and  river  to  Clarendon,  and 
after  a  halt  of  five  days  the  march  was  continued. 
Before  the  army  started  on  its  new  march  it  was  rein- 
forced by  the  arrival  of  the  Second  Wisconsin  Cavalry 
which  had  expected  to  join  it  at  Batesville.  It  had 
marched  from  Springfield  without  encountering  an  enemy 
at  any  point,  though  reports  were  current  of  large  forces 
which  would  obstruct  any  movements  through  the 
country. 

Harry  and  Jack  concluded  to  adhere  to  the  fortunes  of 
the  navy  in  its  further  descent  of  the  river,  and  when  the 
boats  dropped  off  to  float  away  with  the  current  they 
retained  their  places  on  the  "  Cordelia."  The  boats  were 
ordered  to  proceed  to  Grand  Glaise,  twelve  miles  below 
Jacksonport,  and  there  wait  further  orders.  The  army 
at  the  same  time  took  up  its  line  of  march  through  the 
hills  and  swampy  ground  east  of  the  river,  and  was  not 


268  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

expected  to  join  the  boats  until  reacliing  Augusta,  thirty- 
five  miles  from  Jacksonport.  A  regiment  of  cavah-y  was 
ordered  to  keep  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  boats  to  be 
ready  to  aid  them  in  case  of  necessity,  wliicli  was  not 
long  in  coming. 

The  Sixth  Missouri  Cavalry  met  the  boats  at  Grand 
Glaise  and  ordered  them  to  proceed  to  Augusta,  and  on 
they  floated  with  the  sluggish  current,  winding  among  the 
hills  and  forests  that  skirt  the  stream.  Colonel  Wood, 
who  commanded  the  cavalry  regiment,  said  good-bye 
to  Captain  Wadsworth  and  started  for  the  main  army, 
but  before  going  far  he  heard  brisk  firing  from  the  dense 
bushes  lining  the  banks  of  the  river  just  below  Grand 
Glaise. 

Hastily  returning,  he  found  the  boats  had  been  fired 
upon,  and  this  time  with  more  efliect  than  before.  Cap- 
tain Wadsworth  was  severely  wounded,  and  some  of  his 
men  were  slightly  injured,  but  nobody  was  killed. 

Harry  had  a  very  narrow  escape.  When  the  firing 
began  he  was  working  one  of  the  sweeps  to  bring  the 
boat  into  the  current,  it  having  threatened  to  run  upon  a 
bar  that  projected  from  the  northern  shore.  A  bullet 
struck  the  huge  oar  on  which  he  was  pulling,  and  buried 
itself  in  the  wood  witliin  an  inch  of  his  hand ;  another 
passed  through  the  top  of  his  hat,  and  still  another  lodged 
in  the  cotton-bale  which  formed  his  shelter.  The  men 
on  the  boats  promptly  returned  the  fire,  and  by  the  time 
the  cavalry  reached  the  spot  the  assailants  had  mounted 
their  horses  and  disappeared  in  the  forest.  IIow  many 
there  were  of  them  no  one  could  say,  as  the  density  of 
the  forest  was  a  complete  shield  for  them.  Natives  in 
the  vicinity  reported  nineteen  killed,  but  this  was  doubt- 
less an  exaggeration,  as  there  were  probably  not  above 
that  number  of  them  altogether.  The  bushes  were  not 
searched,  either  by  the  crews  of  the  boats  or  the  cavalry  ; 


THE  LOST  AR3IY.  269 

the  latter  were  too  much  engrossed  with  the  pursuit  of 
the  assailants  to  look  for  dead  or  wounded  rebels,  and 
the  former  did  not  deem  it  at  all  prudent  to  venture 
ashore. 

From  this  point  the  boats  continued  unmolested  to 
Augusta,  where  it  was  decided  not  to  try  to  take  them 
further,  as  the  road  lay  too  far  from  the  river  to  enable 
the  army  to  come  promptly  to  their  support,  and  the 
country  was  said  to  be  swarming  with  bushwhackers. 
All  the  provisions  and  other  stores  on  the  boats  were 
taken  ashore,  and  the  boats  and  their  bulwarks  of  cotton 
were  set  on  fire  and  burned.  The  pilot  who  had  accom- 
panied them  thus  far  was  paid  off,  but  he  decided  that  it 
might  not  be  safe  for  him  to  return  to  Batesville,  as  his 
neighbors  would  accuse  him  of  being  altogether  too 
friendly  with  the  Yanks.  He  was  sorry  he  had  n't 
thought  of  it  before,  or  he  would  n't  have  ventured  down 
the  river  at  all. 

It  was  the  fourth  of  July  Avhen  the  army  reached 
Augusta,  and  a  salute  was  fired  in  honor  of  the  national 
independence.  Our  young  friends  found  their  horses  all 
right  and  safe  in  the  hands  of  the  friends  to  whom  they 
had  been  intrusted,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  both  Harry 
and  Jack  rejoiced  to  be  once  more  in  the  saddle. 

The  old  fever  for  scouting  came  upon  them,  and  as  the 
army  was  short  of  provisions  they  proceeded  to  hunt  up 
something  for  feeding  purposes.  In  the  outskirts  of  the 
town  they  found  a  deposit  of  corn  which  had  been  care- 
fully concealed,  and  had  already  missed  the  sharp  eyes 
of  several  squads  of  soldiers.  There  were  nearly  a  hun- 
dred bushels  of  it,  and  following  up  their  success  they 
came  upon  another  store  of  still  larger  amount.  In  a 
clump  of  forest,  half  a  mile  or  so  out  of  Augusta,  they 
unearthed  more  than  a  wagon-load  of  bacon ;  and  alto- 
gether their  labors  were  of  material   advantage  to  the 


270  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

little  army,  which  had  been  disappointed  by  the  failure 
of  the  transports  and  gun-boats  to  ascend  the  river. 

After  their  return  from  the  discovery  of  the  bacon,  an 
old  negro  sidled  up  to  Harry  and  said  he  could  tell  him 
something  he  would  like  to  know. 

"  Out  with  it,"  said  Harry.  "  Don't  keep  me  waiting. 
What  is  it  you  want  to  tell  me  ?  " 

"  Hole  on  a  bit,  young  massa,"  said  the  negro.  "  Dere 
ain't  no  hurry  'bout  it." 

"Well,  I  'm  in  a  hurry,"  said  Harry,  "  and  if  you  've  any 
talking  to  do,  fire  away." 

"Now  just  look  a-heah,"  said  the  darky,  "an'  I'll  tell 
yer.  'Fi  tell  somethin'  yer  want  to  know  real  bad,  '11  yer 
give  me  my  free-papers  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  was  Harry's  reply ;  "  if  you  give  us  any 
information  that 's  true  and  useful,  you  '11  get  your  free- 
papers  fast  enough." 

"  Dat  's  all  I  want  ter  know,"  continued  the  colored 
citizen  ;  "  and  dis  is  what  I  'se  gwine  ter  say." 

Harry  listened  patiently  while  the  negro  with  much 
circumlocution  told  him  of  a  barn  full  of  provisions  which 
had  been  accumulated,  about  two  miles  out  of  town,  wait- 
ing for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  ship  them  to  the  rebel 
army  or  to  Memphis,  which  was  then  the  depot  from 
which  a  large  part  of  the  forces  in  the  West  were  supplied. 
When  convinced  that  the  negro  was  telling  the  truth, 
Harry  quickly  reported  the  circumstance  to  General 
Vandever  and  a  detail  of  cavalry  was  sent  to  take  posses- 
sion. The  negro  did  n't  want  to  go  along  with  the  party, 
as  it  would  involve  him  in  suspicion  which  would  be  bad 
for  him  in  future,  but  he  gave  such  minute  directions  that 
there  was  no  mistaking  the  place. 

They  found  the  barn  and  also  the  provisions.  The 
owner  of  the  place  at  first  denied  all  knowledge  that  any- 
thing was  concealed  there,  and  said  they  were  welcome  to 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  271 

anything  they  could  find,  but  as  soon  as  the  discovery 
was  made  he  assumed  a  different  air  altogether.  He  pro- 
fessed to  be  a  union  man,  and  explained  that  he  had  hid- 
den the  stuff  away  to  save  it  from  going  to  the  rebels. 
"  I  would  rather,''  said  he,  "  see  it  all  burned  up  than 
into  a  rebel  mouth ;  that 's  the  kind  of  union  man 
I  am." 

The  army  remained  two  days  at  Augusta,  and  then 
took  up  its  line  of  march  for  Clarendon,  where  the  trans- 
ports were  said  to  have  arrived  under  convoy  of  a  gun- 
boat. The  country  between  Jacksonport  and  Clarendon 
is  one  of  the  finest  regions  of  eastern  Arkansas.  A  short 
distance  from  the  river  the-  bluffs  along  the  stream  fall 
away  into  low  hills  and  gentle  undulations,  which  become 
less  distinct  until  at  the  divide  between  the  White  and 
St.  Francis  rivers  the  land  becomes  an  almost  unbroken 
devel.  A  portion  of  this  flat,  alluvial  country  is  in  many 
places  covered  with  canebrakes,  and  is  often  overflowed 
in  the  season  of  high  water.  At  such  times  it  becomes 
an  almost  impassable  succession  of  swamps  and  quag- 
mires. But  at  the  time  our  friends  traversed  it  the  ground 
was  dry  and  hard  and  offered  no  obstacle  to  passage  save 
occasionally  at  the  crossings  of  creeks  and  rivulets. 

Interspersed  among  these  lowlands  is  a  succession  of 
higher  grounds,  which  are  level  and  rarely  broken  by  any- 
thing like  an  elevation.  These  lands  are  excellent  for 
cotton,  and  down  to  the  opening  of  the  war  they  had 
annually  sent  a  good  supply  of  the  textile  plant  to 
market.  Cotton  was  raised  there  in  1861  to  some 
extent,  but  in  1862,  by  orders  of  the  Confederate  gov- 
ernment, much  of  the  cotton  land  through  the  South 
was  planted  with  corn.  The  valley  of  the  White  river 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule,  and  as  our  army  moved 
along  it  passed  many  fields  of  corn,  of  which  the  ears, 
just  then  sufficiently  advanced  to  be  edible,  formed  a  wel- 


272  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

come  addition  to  the  scanty  stores  possessed  by  the  com- 
missarj^  department.  As  a  single  article  of  diet,  green  corn 
is  not  to  be  recommended,  but  when  combined  with  other 
things  it  is,  as  everybody  knows,  a  thing  not  to  be  de- 
spised. 

Every  few  miles  the  advance  of  the  army  came  upon 
trees  felled  across  the  roads,  and  considerable  time  was 
lost  in  removing  these  obstructions.  From  the  negroes  it 
was  learned  that  there  was  a  considerable  force  of  rebels 
at  the  town  of  Des  Arc,  on  the  east  bank  of  White  river, 
about  half-way  between  Augusta  and  Clarendon.  They 
were  said  to  be  about  six  thousand  strong,  and  to  consist 
mainly  of  Arkansas  and  Texas  mounted  men,  under  com- 
mand of  General  Rust.  As  they  were  at  a  convenient 
striking  distance  from  the  road  which  General  Curtis  was 
following,  it  was  thought  quite  likely  they  would  make 
an  attack  at  some  point  where  they  could  fight  to  advan- 
tage, and  the  result  proved  the  correctness  of  this  belief. 

Several  timber  obstructions  were  encountered,  most  of 
them  at  the  crossings  of  small  creeks,  but  nothing  was 
seen  of  an  enemy  until  the  point  was  reached  where  the 
road  from  Des  Arc  joins  the  main  one,  about  ten  miles  to 
the  east  of  that  town.  Here  was  the  plantation  of  Colonel 
Hill,  an  officer  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  his  residence 
and  buildings  were  at  the  junction  of  the  roads,  in  the 
southwest  angle.  North  of  the  Des  Arc  road  was  a  cot- 
ton-gin and  press,  and  close  by  were  two  aboriginal 
mounds  of  unknown  date.  Colonel  Hill  was  then  blessed 
with  his  third  wife,  and  the  graves  of  her  two  predeces- 
sors were  on  the  tops  of  these  mounds,  each  one  sur- 
rounded by  a  fence  of  white  palings.  "  It  must  have 
been,"  said  Harry,  afterwards,  "  a  cheerful  thing  for  the 
third  wife  to  contemplate  the  graves  on  these  mounds  and 
wonder  when  her  turn  would  come  and  where  she  would 
be  placed."     Jack  thought  the  colonel  ought  to  put  up 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  273 

another  mound,  so  as  to  have  everj^thing  ready  for  the 
good  lady's  demise. 

The  country  around  the  junction  of  the  road  had  been 
cleared  for  cotton-fields,  but  a  little  way  beyond  it  the 
forests  were  dense  and  afforded  good  cover  for  an  enemy. 
The  mounted  men,  in  advance,  with  whom  were  Harry 
and  Jack,  discovered  signs  of  an  enemy  lurking  in  the 
timber  south  of  Hill's  house,  and  word  was  sent  to  bring 
up  the  infantry,  Harry  rode  back  to  carry  the  order,  and 
in  a  little  while  the  infantry  had  come  forward  and  was 
ready  for  business.  The  Thirty-third  Illinois  and  the 
Eleventh  Wisconsin  were  the  ones  selected  for  the  work ; 
they  deployed  as  skirmishers,  and  soon  exchanged  shots 
with  the  rebels,  Avho  were  spread  out  in  the  timber.  The 
two  union  regiments  were  not  more  than  six  hundred 
strong ;  they  were  opposed  by  about  fifteen  hundred 
rebels,  but  the  disparity  of  numbers  was  balanced  by  the 
superiority  of  the  weapons  of  the  former  and  their  good 
drill  and  discipline.  The  rebel  forces  consisted  of  some 
very  raw  cavalry  from  Arkansas  and  Texas,  and  some 
newly-assembled  conscripts  who  had  not  been  in  camp 
many  days  and  knew  practically  nothing  about  military 
life. 

Soon  as  the  firing  began  to  have  anything  like  vigor  to 
it  the  conscripts  fled  in  disorder,  but  the  Texan  troops 
stood  their  ground  very  well.  As  our  right  approached 
the  enemy's  left  it  was  met  by  a  volley  which  caused  two 
of  the  companies  to  fall  back  a  little ;  the  rebels  under- 
took to  follow  up  the  advantage  thus  gained,  and  to  do  so 
emerged  from  the  wood  into  the  open  ground. 

Here  they  were  met  by  volleys  of  musketry  and  by 
rapid  discharges  of  grape  from  two  steel  hoAvitzers  which 
were  brought  forward  by  the  First  Indiana  Cavalry. 
This  welcome  was  too  much  for  the  rebels,  who  broke  and 
fled  from  the  field,  leaving  a  good  many  of  their  men  dead 
18 


274  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

or  wounded.  Some  of  them  retreated  to  Des  Arc,  and 
others  along  the  road  to  the  south.  It  was  afterwards 
reported  that  three  or  four  thousand  men  were  marching 
from  Des  Arc  to  join  tliem,  but  were  unable  to  get  across 
the  Cache  river,  which  is  too  deep  to  be  forded  and  tlie 
single  ferry-boat  was  not  able  to  bring  them  over  in  time 
to  be  of  use.  When  it  was  found  that  the  other  force  had 
been  defeated,  they  gave  up  the  attempt  to  interrupt  the 
advance  of  the  union  army  and  marched  back  to  Des  Arc. 


TEE  LOST  ARMY.  275 


CHAPTER  XL. 

A   JOKE    ON    THE    SPIES — WON^DERFUL    SHELLS THE    ARMY 

REACHES    CLARENDON. 

A  FLAG  of  truce  came  during  the  evening,  but  was  not 
admitted.  The  bearers  were  informed  tliat  the  dead  were 
being  buried  by  our  own  men,  and  the  wounded  receiving 
every  attention.  The  next  morning  another  flag  of  truce 
came,  and  as  tliere  was  no  good  reason  for  it,  tlie  general 
naturally  suspected  that  it  was  a  pretext  to  learn  some- 
thing about  our  forces  and  position. 

He  admitted  the  bearers  of  the  flag,  and  kept  them 
inside  his  lines  all  day,  so  that  anything  they  might  learn 
by  the  use  of  their  eyes  would  not  be  of  any  advantage  to 
their  side.  The  suspicion  that  the  burial  of  the  dead  and 
the  care  of  the  wounded  was  not  the  real  cause  of  the 
visit  was  strengthened  by  the  inquisitiveness  of  some  of 
the  men,  and  the  fact  that  one  of  them  was  discovered 
making  notes  of  certain  conversations  when  he  thought 
he  was  not  observed. 

Harry  was  the  discoverer  of  this  note-taking,  and  re- 
ported the  circumstance  to  General  Vandever. 

"If  that's  what  they  're  after,"  remarked  the  general, 
"  we  '11  give  'em  all  they  want." 

So  he  had  the  visitors  transferred  from  the  tent  where 
they  were  at  the  time,  and  placed  in  a  room  in  one  of  the 
outbuildings  not  far  away.  There  was  another  room  in 
the  same  building,  and  the  partition  between  the  two  was 


276  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

full  of  cracks,  so  that  conversation  could  be  heard  with 
ease  from  one  room  to  the  other. 

The  general  instructed  Harry  as  to  what  he  was  to  do, 
and  then  he  went  with  his  adjutant  and  two  or  three 
other  officers  to  the  room  adjoining  the  one  where  the 
truce-bearers  were  held. 

"  Here  we  can  talk  without  being  disturbed,"  said  the 
general.  "  My  orderly  knows  where  I  am,  and  if  I  'm 
wanted  he  '11  call  me." 

Everything  was  perfectly  still  in  the  adjoining  room, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  men  there  were  using  their 
ears  to  the  best  advantage. 

"Now,"  said  the  general,  "  to  begin  with,  I  suppose  you 
don't  understand  why  we  're  marching  south  and  along 
the  White  river." 

There  was  a  pause,  and  then  he  continued : 

"  ^Ve  're  not  strong  enough  to  go  to  Little  Rock  now," 
be  said  ;  "  but  the  thirty-five  thousand  men  with  ninety- 
two  pieces  of  artillery  that  will  join  us  in  the  next  week 
will  put  us  on  the  offensive,  and  then  Little  Rock  must 
look  out." 

"  How  are  we  going  there  ?  "  queried  one  of  the  officers. 

"General  Curtis  told  me  this  morning  that  we  should 
go  across  the  country  to  within  about  thirty  miles  of 
Little  Rock,  or  perhaps  twenty  miles,  and  there  he  should 
divide  the  force.  Two-thirds  of  it  will  cross  on  pontoons, 
which  are  being  brought  along  by  the  new  army,  and  there 
will- be  enough  of  them  to  lay  three  bridges  over  the  river 
at  once.  While  they  oppose  us  at  one  place  we  '11  get 
over  at  another,  and  in  three  hours  the  entire  force  for 
that  side  will  be  safely  landed.  Then  they  '11  go  to  the 
rear  of  Little  Rock  and  lay  siege  to  it,  while  the  other 
third  of  our  strength  will  fire  away  at  it  from  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  There  Avill  be  four  batteries  of  heavy 
siege-guns  playing  on  the  town  all  at  once,  and  they  are 


THE  LOST  AE2IY.  277 

bringing  two  thousand  shells  loaded  with  Greek  fire  to 
burn  up  eveiy  house  in  the  place  if  necessary.  Twenty- 
four  hours  will  be  allowed  for  sending  out  women,  children 
and  other  non-combatants,  and  then  the  battle  will  begin." 

"  But  won't  they  be  likely  to  interrupt  us  on  the  way 
with  General  Rust's  army  and  other  troops  they  can 
get  together  ?  " 

"  They  may  try,  but  it  '11  be  bad  for  'em,"  was  the  reply. 
"The  government  has  sent  us  some  of  the  new  shells 
invented  by  a  Yankee  somewhere  in  Massachusetts,  that 
have  done  wonderful  work  in  Tirginia." 

"What  are  those ?    I  haven't  heard  of  them." 

"  Well,  we  've  been  keeping  it  pretty  quiet,"  was  the 
reply,  "  as  we  don't  want  the  rebels  on  this  side  of  the 
Mississippi  to  find  it  out  if  we  can  help  it.  These  new  shells 
are  loaded  with  a  composition  that  spreads  out  w^hen  it 
explodes,  and  kills  everybody  within  twenty  yards.  It  's 
a  secret  composition,  and  the  government  pays  fifty 
dollars  for  each  shell  the  inventor  delivers,  and  he  guar- 
antees that  if  two  of  these  shells  are  fired  where  there  is 
a  regiment,  it  will  kill  every  man  in  it.  They  are  not 
wounded  at  all,  but  just  fall  down  as  though  struck  by 
lightning.     Here  's  an  account  of  what  they  '11  do." 

The  general  took  a  document  from  his  pocket,  and 
pretended  to  read  a  wonderful  story  of  how  the  entire 
garrison  of  a  rebel  fort  on  the  James  river  was  killed  by 
one  of  these  new-fangled  shells,  which  had  been  dropped 
into  it  from  a  mortar  fully  a  mile  away.  He  told  his 
friends  they  must  keep  the  matter  secret,  as  it  was  known 
only  to  General  Curtis  and  a  few  of  his  higher  officers, 
and  they  were  particularly  desirous  that  the  information 
should  n't  leak  out.  "  There  '11  be  three  hundred  of  those 
shells,"  said  he,  "  and  half  of  them  will  be  enough  to  kill 
all  the  rebels  in  Arkansas." 

Then  he  went  on  with  other  wild  yarns  with  the  utmost 


278  The  lost  army. 

seriousness,  and  at  length  was  interrupted  by  Harry,  who 
dehvered  some  despatches  just  received  by  General  Curtis 
from  General  Halleck  and  brought  by  a  courier,  who  came 
through  from  Helena  in  disguise.  They  announced  a 
great  victory  for  the  union  army  in  Virginia,  the  innninent 
capture  of  Richmond,  the  surrender  of  a  large  part  of 
Lee's  army,  together  with  other  bits  of  information  that 
would  have  been  highly  important  if  true. 

When  it  was  thought  that  the  eavesdroppers  had  been 
properly  "loaded,"  as  the  general  expressed  it,  the  party 
retired,  and  the  flag-of-truce  bearers  were  left  to  ponder 
on  what  they  had  heard.  In  the  afternoon  the  army 
moved  forward  to  take  up  a  new  camp,  and  when  the 
column  was  under  wiiy — in  fact  after  the  greater  part  of 
it  had  marched  off — the  truce-paity  was  released  and 
allowed  to  go  back  to  its  own  camp. 

The  seed  was  sown  on  good  ground.  There  was  great 
alarm  through  the  rebel  ranks  at  the  new  terrors  in  store 
for  them,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  vigilance  of  the  com- 
manders, there  were  numerous  desertions  daily.  The 
more  intelligent  among  tiie  officers  had  a  suspicion  that 
the  eavesdroppers  had  been  hoaxed,  but  they  were  power- 
less to  stop  the  spreading  of  the  reports,  which  grew  in 
horror  as  they  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth.  The  won- 
derful shells  which  could  sweep  off  so  many  men  "  as 
though  they  had  been  struck  by  lightning  "  disturbed  the 
dreams  of  many  a  soldier  of  Arkansas  or  Texas,  and  were 
not  often  out  of  his  thoughts  in  his  waking  hours. 

Very  soon  after  this  event  the  rebels  abandoned  Des 
Arc,  and  concentrated  in  the  capital  or  around  it.  Earth- 
works were  thrown  up  to  defend  the  city  against  the 
threatened  attack,  and  so  much  attention  was  paid  to 
Little  Rock  that  all  other  parts  of  the  state  were  practi- 
cally deserted. 

And  those  wonderful  shells  are  yet  resting  in  the  brain 


TRE  LOST  ARMY.  279 

of  the  man  who  invented  them.  Perhaps  they  will  be 
developed  in  some  future  war. 

It  is  well  to  remark  at  this  point  that  the  trick  which 
was  played  on  the  flag-of-truce  bearers  is  by  no  means  a 
new  one,  though  it  was  new  enough  on  that  occasion.  It 
was  played  several  times  by  both  sides  during  the  war  ; 
but  its  most  successful  performance  was  by  Stonewall 
Jackson  in  one  of  his  campaigns  in  the  Shenandoah  valley. 

Several  captured  union  officers  were  under  guard  in  a 
house  in  Winchester,  and  expected  to  be  sent  to  Rich- 
mond and  locked  up  in  Libby  prison.  General  Jackson 
had  a  council  of  war  with  his  division  commanders  in  a 
room  adjoining  the  one  where  the  officers  were  confined. 
He  gave  his  orders  with  great  exactness,  told  where  each 
division  was  to  march,  and  sent  the  commanders  away 
one  after  another  to  get  his  force  in  readiness.  They 
were  to  advance  on  the  union  position  and  give  battle, 
and  everything  was  prepared  with  the  utmost  care. 

Then  he  asked  his  adjutant-general  when  he  had  sent 
the  prisoners  to  Richmond. 

"  They  have  n't  been  sent  off  yet,  General,"  was  the 
reply.  "  But  we  '11  start  them  soon  after  daylight.  Gen- 
eral Stuart  said  his  cavalry  must  rest  till  then." 

"If  they  haven't  gone  now,"  said  the  general,  "you'd 
better  parole  them  and  send  them  down  the  valley.  Let 
them  start  immediately,  so  that  they  '11  be  well  out  of  the 
way  before  we  begin  our  advance." 

With  this  the  general  went  out  and  was  soon  followed 
by  the  adjutant.  In  fifteen  minutes  an  officei"  came  to 
take  their  paroles,  and  they  were  escorted  to  the  union 
lines  by  a  flag-of-truce  party.  As  they  passed  through 
the  town  they  saw  that  preparations  were  going  on  for  a 
movement,  and  when  they  got  within  their  own  camp 
they  of  course  told  what  they  had  heard. 

Of  course  their  information  was  valuable,  and  prepara- 


280  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

tions  were  at  once  made  to  resist  the  advance.  Hour  after 
hour  passed  away  waitmg  for  Stonewall  Jackson,  but  he 
did  n't  come.  All  those  hours  he  was  marching  the  other 
way  as  fast  as  possible,  and  executing  one  of  those  move- 
ments for  which  he  was  famous.  He  suddenly  appeared 
at  a  point  where  he  was  least  expected,  and  then  it  was 
realized  that  his  talk  in  hearing  of  the  prisoners  was  all  a 
ruse. 

For  the  rest  of  the  way  to  Clarendon  General  Curtis 
met  with  no  opposition  other  than  that  caused  by  trees 
felled  across  the  road.  It  had  been  reported  that  a  gun- 
boat and  two  transports  with  supplies  had  reached  Claren- 
don and  were  waiting  for  him,  and  he  was  very  desirous 
of  finding  them.  The  rumor  passed  along  the  lines  that 
transports  and  supplies  were  at  hand,  and  so  the  soldiers 
pushed  vigorously  on  to  that  point. 

They  reached  Clarendon  on  the  afternoon  of  the  ninth 
of  July,  and  were  bitterly  disappointed.  The  gun-boat 
and  transports  had  been  there  and  waited  a  while,  but  as 
they  could  get  no  tidings  of  the  whereabouts  of  General 
Curtis,  and  the  rebels  were  said  to  be  mustering  in  force 
for  their  capture,  it  was  considered  prudent  to  retire. 
The  transports  had  been  gone  about  twenty  hours  when 
the  advance  of  the  column  arrived,  and  with  them  the 
supplies  that  had  been  so  anxiously  desired.  Truly  the 
army  seemed  to  have  been  deserted  in  the  wilderness. 

From  all  that  could  he  learned  there  was  no  enemy 
between  Clarendon  and  the  Mississippi,  the  nearest  point 
of  which  was  about  sixty  miles  away.  There  might  be  a 
few  straggling  bands  of  bushwackers,  but  nothing  that 
could  make  any  serious  opposition.  But  sixty  miles  is  a 
long  distance  in  a  strange  country,  and  when  provisions 
are  running  short. 

The  inhabitants  of  Clarendon  were  much  like  those  of 
Bates ville  and  Jacksonport,  thoroughly  secession  in  their 


The  lost  armt.  281 

sympathies,  and  wondering  when  the  war  would  end,  so 
that  they  might  get  their  cotton  to  market.  They  had 
very  little  to  sell  in  the  way  of  provisions,  as  they  had 
been  pretty  well  cleaned  out  by  their  own  government; 
hut  the  usual  foraging,  in  which  Harry  and  Jack  took  a 
prominent  part,  served  to  bring  many  things  edible  to 
light. 

Most  of  the  able-bodied  men  were  away  at  the  war, 
leaving  behind  only  the  aged  and  the  boys  who  were  too 
young  for  service.  Among  those  who  remained  was  a 
lawyer,  a  dignified  and  red-nosed  citizen  of  some  sixty  or 
more  years,  who  demanded  audience  with  General  Curtis, 
in  order  to  prove  to  him  that  he  had  no  constitutional 
right  to  invade  the  State  of  Arkansas ! 


282  i'^-E  LOBT  ARMY, 


CHAPTER  XL. 

A    NIGHT     ATTACK    BY     PIGS BATTLE    BETWEEN    FORTS    AND 

GUN-BOATS DISASTER  TO  THE  MOUND  CITY. 

On  the  night  of  the  ninth,  Harry  and  Jack  had  an  ad- 
venture of  a  new  sort,  which  happily  turned  out  to  be 
bloodless. 

The  greater  part  of  tlie  baggage-wagons  failed  to  come 
up  until  late  in  the  evening,  and  it  became  necessary  for 
the  soldiers  to  bivouac  without  shelter,  as  the  little  town 
was  not  equal  to  their  accommodation.  Our  young  friends 
picketed  their  horses,  having  first  cut  a  quantity  of  green 
oats  from  a  field  near  by,  with  which  they  fed  the  faithful 
animals. 

Then  they  took  two  or  three  bundles  of  the  oats  to  lie 
upon  and  flattered  themselves  that  they  would  make  a 
comfortable  bed,  or  one  which  would  certainly  be  an  im- 
provement upon  the  bare  ground.  With  a  thin  layer  on 
the  ground  and  a  good-sized  bundle  for  their  pillows,  they 
went  to  sleep  in  very  short  order. 

They  were  sleeping  soundly,  and  possibly  dreaming  of 
home  and  friends,  when  they  were  suddenly  and  rudely 
awakened.  The  night  was  dark  and  their  first  thought 
was  that  they  had  been  surprised  by  the  enemy. 

There  was  a  long  and  very  dark  form  standing  over 
Harry  and  another  over  Jack,  and  each  of  the  assailants 
seemed  to  be  looking  for  the  throat  of  his  victim. 

Harry  gave  his  disturber  a  heavy  blow  with  his  fist, 
which  sent  him  reeling  over  upon  the  soldier  who  was 


TBE  LOST  ARMY.  283 

lying  close  by  and  snoring  loudly.  The  snoring  stopped 
at  once,  as  the  fall  of  the  heavy  body  waked  the  soldier, 
who  sprang  to  his  feet  and  reached  for  his  gun.  He  had 
the  impulse  to  shoot,  but  did  not  know  in  what  direction 
to  fire. 

Jack  grappled  with  his  enemy,  and  there  was  a  struggle 
which  may  be  said  to  have  resulted  in  victory  for  both. 
Jack  did  not  succeed  in  holding  down  his  assailant,  as 
the  latter  slipped  through  his  grasp  and  made  his  escape. 
But  the  youth  saved  his  life  and  was  not,  in  fact,  injured 
further  than  a  few  slight  contusions  and  abrasions. 

Another  soldier  who  had  been  awakened  drew  his 
bayonet,  and  as  one  of  the  attacking  force  rushed  past 
him  the  man  gave  a  well-directed  prod  with  the  weapon, 
which  stretched  the  intruder  on  the  ground.  It  also 
roused  a  deafening  squeal,  that  indicated  the  character 
of  the  creators  of  the  disturbance. 

It  seems  that  a  drove  of  half-wild  pigs  had  come  out  of 
the  forest,  on  the  lookout  for  something  to  eat.  In  the 
southern  states  pigs  generally  run  at  large,  being  called 
up  occasionally  by  means  of  a  horn,  to  be  fed  and  selected 
for  slaughter  or  other  purposes.  As  they  are  always  fed 
when  summoned  by  the  horn,  they  soon  learn  to  come  to 
its  call ;  but  sometimes,  when  the  summonses  are  infre- 
quent, they  grow  so  wild  that  they  do  not  heed  the  sound. 
Then  they  have  to  be  chased  up,  and  the  work  of  driving 
them  in  is  no  small  affair. 

Very  often  they  remain  in  the  woods  during  the  day 
and  come  around  at  night  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
dwellings  in  search  of  food.  The  southern  pigs  are  like 
those  of  any  other  part  of  the  country,  or  of  the  world, 
for  that  matter,  as  they  are  gifted  with  free  appetites 
and  are  not  over  particular  about  their  food  as  long  as  it 
is  something  edible. 

In  their  nocturnal  ramble  this  drove  under  considera- 


^84  th:e  lost  army. 

tion  had  come  upon  the  sleeping-place  of  our  young  friends. 
Having  scented  the  oats  which  the  boys  had  taken  to 
sleep  upon,  the  animals  rushed  in  without  ceremony  and 
proceeded  to  devour  the  succulent  grain  without  asking 
permission  of  those  who  were  then  in  possession.  The 
assault  of  two  of  the  pigs  upon  the  bundles  which  formed 
the  pillows  of  Harry  and  Jack  gave  the  impression  that 
the  marauders  were  seeking  to  reach  the  throats  of  their 
victims,  and  their  forms  in  the  darkness  were  not  unlike 
those  of  men  stooping  forward  to  attack  the  slumberers. 
Two  of  the  pigs  paid  for  the  assault  with  their  lives,  and 
formed  a  material  addition  to  the  bill  of  fare  of  the  men 
whose  slumbers  they  had  broken.  There  was  little  sleep 
in  the  group  for  the  rest  of  the  night,  their  hearty  laughter 
over  the  incident,  and  speculations  as  to  whether  the  rest 
of  the  pigs  would  come  back,  having  effectually  driven 
sleep  from  their  eyelids. 

The  presence  of  the  pigs  having  been  discovered,  a  horn 
was  blown  the  next  morning  and  turned  to  good  advan- 
tage. Pigs  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  or  more  came 
trooping  out  of  the  forest,  and  were  enticed  into  a  yard 
which  had  been  hastily  constructed  by  some  of  the 
soldiers.  When  they  ceased  coming  the  yard  was  closed, 
and  the  soldiers  said  afterwards  that  pork  roasted  over  a 
campfire  formed  an  excellent  substitute  for  other  articles 
of  food  when  the  others  could  n't  be  had. 

The  rumor  of  the  granting  of  free- papers  to  the  negroes 
who  had  been  working  on  the  fortifications  or  helped  to 
fell  timber  to  obstruct  the  march  of  the  army  was  rapidly 
spread  about  Clarendon,  and  in  a  few  hours  the  colored 
population  for  miles  around  seemed  to  have  gathered 
there.  All  declared  they  had  been  doing  the  forbidden 
work,  and  all,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  grant  them  in 
tlie  limited  time,  received  their  papers. 

"  If  we  had  only  known  it,"  said  Harry  to  Jack,  when 


THE  LOST  AEMY.  285 

they  learned  the  state  of  affairs,  "  you  and  I  would  have 
tried  to  get  through  to  bring  news  to  the  fleet,  and  we 
would  have  got  through  somehow.  We  might  have 
taken  a  skiff  and  paddled  down  in  the  night,  and  we 
would  have  rigged  it  up  like  a  log,  so  that  it  would  have 
required  very  sharp  eyes  to  discover  that  it  was  anything 
else  than  an  ordinary  log  drifting  with  the  current.  But 
there  's  no  use  crying  over  spilt  milk,  as  the  old  saw  has 
it,  and  so  we  need  n't  waste  the  time  over  planning  for 
past  performances.  But  I  'd  have  given  a  good  deal  to 
have  known  of  this  in  time." 

Jack  agreed  with  him,  and  after  a  very  brief  talk  on 
the  subject  they  turned  their  attention  to  other  matters. 

There  was  no  alternative  for  the  army  but  to  make  the 
best  of  its  way  to  Helena,  on  the  Mississippi,  sixty  or  sixty- 
five  miles  away.  The  tenth  of  July  was  spent  at  Claren- 
don, and  at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh 
General  Washburne,  with  two  thousand  five  hundred 
cavalry  and  six  mountain  hov/itzers,  started  on  a  forced 
march  for  the  banks  of  the  great  river.  They  followed 
the  old  military  road  between  Little  Rock  and  Helena. 
It  proved  to  be  a  very  good  road,  though  there  were 
several  bad  places  at  the  crossings  of  small  streams. 
With  a  few  exceptions,  and  those  doing  no  harm,  not  a 
shot  was  fired  at  them  along  the  whole  of  the  route,  all 
the  forces  of  the  enemy  having  been  withdrawn  to  the 
defense  of  the  White  river  or  to  points  further  back  in 
the  interior  of  the  state. 

Harry  and  Jack  were  allowed  to  accompany  General 
Washburne's  advance,  as  it  was  thought  they  might  be 
useful  in  case  there  was  any  scouting  to  be  done  or  any 
foraging  for  provisions,  but  as  the  march  was  a  forced  one 
there  was  no  time  for  anything  of  the  sort,  and  they  had 
nothing  to  do  but  stick  to  the  column  and  keep  their 
horses  in  the  road. 


286  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  twelfth  the 
foremost  of  the  soldiers  rose  in  their  stirrups  and  gave  a 
loud  cheer,  which  was  speedily  carried  along  the  whole 
line.  Cheer  upon  cheer  followed,  no  one  being  told  the 
cause,  but  everybody  realizing  that  the  end  of  the  long 
march  was  near.  The  spires  of  the  churches  of  Helena 
were  soon  afterward  in  full  view,  and  beyond  them 
gleamed  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  reflecting  the  rays 
of  the  summer  sun. 

Harry  and  Jack  were  among  the  loudest  of  the  cheerers, 
as  they  realized  that,  for  the  present,  at  any  rate,  their 
wanderings  in  the  wilds  of  Arkansas  were  at  an  end. 
They  were  weary  with  the  almost  unbroken  ride  of  twenty- 
eight  hours,  covered  with  the  dust  that  rose  in  clouds 
from  the  dry  road,  and  suffering  the  pangs  of  hunger  and 
thirst,  but  no  worse  in  that  respect  than  all  those  about 
them.  But  with  all  their  weariness  and  hunger,  and 
through  all  the  dust  that  covered  them,  their  hearts 
swelled  with  joy,  and  they  shouted  themselves  hoarse  over 
the  sight  of  the  great  river  of  the  West. 

But  now  came  a  new  difficulty.  Helena  had  not  been 
occupied  by  union  troops,  and  there  was  no  one  there  to 
welcome  them.  The  gun-boat  fleet  had  called  there  and 
agreed  with  the  local  authorities  that  the  town  should  not 
be  harmed  as  long  as  no  outrages  were  perpetrated  on 
passing  steamboats.  The  agreement  had  been  kept,  and 
though  several  bands  of  bushwhackers  had  dropped  in  to 
see  their  friends,  they  had  been  restrained  from  making 
any  attacks  or  otherwise  disturbing  the  peace.  The  in- 
habitants were  not  particularly  loyal  toward  the  govern- 
ment, but  they  had  heard  the  fate  of  several  places  where 
boats  had  been  fired  upon,  and  had  sufficient  influence  to 
keep  their  bushwhacking  friends  quiet. 

As  the  advance  of  General  Washburne's  cavalry  entered 
the  town,  several  men,  who  had  been  loitering  in  front  of 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  287 

one  of  the  stores,  made  haste  to  mount  their  horses  and 
get  away.  A  few  shots  were  fired  at  them,  but  no  harm 
was  done,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  pursue  them.  In 
a  little  while  the  whole  force  of  cavalry  had  reached  the 
river  bank,  and  the  Mississippi  was  scanned  up  and  down 
to  discover  a  steamboat. 

General  Washburne  hoped  there  would  be  a  gun-boat 
with  which  he  could  communicate,  but  no  gun-boat  was 
in  sight.  Soon  the  smoke  of  a  steamboat  was  seen  below 
the  town,  around  a  bend  of  the  river,  and  in  due  time  she 
came  in  sight,  slowly  stemming  the  powerful  current.  It 
was  an  ordinary  transport,  quite  incapable  of  defense,  and 
the  general  quickly  made  up  his  mind  to  stop  her  by 
friendly  means  if  he  could,  or  by  force  if  he  must. 

As  the  steamer  came  in  front  of  Helena  flags  were  waved 
again  and  again,  but  the  boat  paid  no  attention  to  them. 
Then  a  shot  was  fired  across  her  bows  to  warn  her  to  stop, 
but  this  had  no  effect ;  another  shot  followed,  and  then 
another,  aimed  like  the  first,  so  as  not  to  harm  the  boat, 
but  to  make  those  on  board  believe  that  something  serious 
would  happen  soon  unless  she  came  to  a  halt.  Seeing 
there  was  no  escape  from  the  supposed  rebels,  the  pilot 
headed  the  boat  for  the  bank  and  ran  in,  A  dozen  or  more 
soldiers  were  on  her  deck  with  their  guns  ready  for  busi- 
ness, but  they  soon  perceived  that  resistance  to  such  a 
force  would  be  useless.  They  prepared  to  surrender  and 
make  the  best  of  their  misfortune.  But  before  the  gang- 
plank had  been  run  out  one  of  the  shrewdest  of  them 
observed  that  the  formidable  force  was  habited  in  the  union 
uniform,  though  it  was  so  sadly  covered  with  dust  that  it 
could  easily  be  mistaken  for  the  confederate  gray. 

An  ofiicer  who  was  among  the  passengers  brought  a 
field-glass  to  bear  on  the  party  on  the  bank.  He  was  an 
old  friend  of  Captain  Winslow,  the  quartermaster  of  Gen- 
eral Curtis's  army,  and  was  not  long  in  making  him  out, 


288  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

in  spite  of  the  dust  that  covered  him  and  his  generally  be- 
draggled appearance  after  his  long  ride.  Holding  aside 
his  glass,  he  shouted : 

"  Is  Captain  Winslow  there  ?" 

"  Here  I  am,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  here  are  the  rest  of 
us." 

"  All  right,  pilot,"  said  the  officer  ;  "  you  're  safe  enough 
now.    You  're  captured  by  our  friends." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  boat  had  been  made  fast  to  the 
shore,  and  General  Washburne  came  onboard  accompanied 
by  Captahi  Winslow,  Captain  Noble,  of  General  Curtis's 
staff,  and  several  other  officers.  There  was  a  recognition 
of  old  friends  and  introductions  all  around.  The  new  ar- 
rivals were  treated  to  the  best  the  steamer  afforded,  and 
the  officer  who  had  charge  of  the  boat  asked  what  they 
could  do  for  the  weary  and  dusty  crowd. 

"  Give  us  whatever  provisions  you  can  spare,"  said  Gen- 
eral Washburne,  "  and  then  hurry  up  to  Memphis  as  fast 
as  you  can  with  Captains  Winslow  and  Noble.  They  '11 
get  supplies  for  us  and  have  them  shipped  down  here  to 
meet  the  army  by  the  time  it  arrives." 

The  boat  was  not  well  provided  with  stores,  as  she  had 
no  occasion  for  anything  beyond  sufficient  to  feed  her  com- 
pany to  Memphis,  but  whatever  she  had  was  quickly  rolled 
on  the  bank  and  handed  over  to  the  quartermaster  of  the 
division.  When  this  had  been  done  she  immediately 
steamed  away  for  Memphis,  ninety  miles  up  the  river. 
She  was  obliged  to  lie  at  anchor  during  the  night,  owing 
to  a  dense  fog,  and  did  not  reach  Memphis  until  the  fol- 
lowing forenoon. 

Supplies  were  immediately  shipped  to  Helena,  and  by 
the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  they  were  piled  on  the  bank 
— a  welcome  sight  to  the  soldiers,  that  marched  in  as 
closely  behind  the  cavalry  as  it  was  possible  for  infantry 
to  follow.     The  march  from  Clarendon  was  accomplished 


The  Dumb  Witness. 


Page  256. 


THE  LOST  ABMY.  289 

in  little  more  than  two  days,  and  not  a  wagon  was  lost  or 
left  behind.  By  the  evening  of  the  thirteenth  all  the  di- 
visions had  arrived,  and  anxiously  waited  the  provisions 
which  came  to  them  on  the  following  morning.  Hundreds 
of  hands  were  ready  to  assist  in  the  landing,  and  rarely 
has  a  steamboat  discharged  her  cargo  with  greater  celerity. 
The  column  was  followed  by  a  great  number  of  negroes, 
who  feared  the  treatment  they  would  receive  from  their 
masters  after  the  departure  of  the  union  forces  from  Clar- 
endon. At  one  time  it  was  remarked  that  there  were  more 
negroes  than  white  men  in  Helena,  and  the  support  of  the 
colored  population  became  a  matter  of  serious  consequence. 
The  difficulty  was  partially  solved  a  few  months  later, 
when  it  was  decided  to  enlist  negroes  as  soldiers,  and  sev- 
eral regiments  of  them  were  formed  for  infantry  and  cav- 
alry service.  Thousands  of  able-bodied  citizens  of  African 
descent  were  enrolled  in  the  army,  and  though  they  had 
their  defects  they  did  credit  to  themselves,  besides  ex- 
asperating the  rebels  to  an  unwonted  degree.  Many  of 
the  rebel  officers  subsequently  declared  that  their  greatest 
mistake  was  that  they  did  not  arm  their  negroes  early  in 
the  war,  and  promise  to  give  them  their  freedom  at  the 
end. 
19 


290  THE  LOST  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE    LOST    ARMY    IN    CAMP    AT     HELENA — NEGROES    UTILIZED 
THE    END. 

Our  story  draws  to  a  close.  We  have  brought  Harry 
and  Jack  to  the  banks  of  the  great  river,  and  there  we  will 
leave  them.  The  army  of  General  Curtis  had  terminated 
a  most  arduous  campaign.  Since  leaving  Rolla  in  Feb- 
ruary, six  months  before,  it  had  marched  more  than  six 
hundred  miles,  much  of  the  way  through  a  thinly-settled 
and  inhospitable  region,  with  bad  roads,  unbridged 
streams,  and  all  the  difficulties  of  locomotion  in  a  new 
country.  It  had  fought  several  minor  engagements  and 
skirmishes,  and  engaged  in  a  battle  of  three  days'  duration 
— that  of  Pea  Ridge,  out  of  which  it  emerged  victorious 
after  combating  with  a  force  three  times  as  great  as  its 
own.  It  had  performed  some  of  the  best  marching  on 
record,  and  its  men  were  ready  to  go  through  another 
campaign  of  the  same  sort,  only  asking  for  a  brief  rest  and 
for  sufficient  good  food  to  restore  their  accustomed 
strength.  And  the  reader  may  be  sure  that  nothing  was 
kept  from  them  that  was  within  the  power  of  the  quarter- 
masters to  give,  and  the  camps  in  and  aroun.d  Helena 
were  a  scene  of  feasting  and  rejoicing,  such  as  that  quiet 
town  on  the  Mississippi  had  never  before  known. 

Harry  and  Jack  were  quite  as  ready  as  any  one  else  for 
a  good  rest,  and  did  not  hang  back  when  there  was 
a  prospect  of  something  nice  to  eat.  As  they  strolled 
through  the  streets  and  along  the  levee  of  Helena  they 


TBE  LOST  ARMY.  291 

built  many  castles  in  the  air,  and  pondered  upon  what 
they  had  been  through  since  they  left  their  homes  a 
twelve-month  before. 

"  Wonder  how  many  miles  we  've  traveled  ?  "  said 
Harry.  "  I  leave  out  of  the  calculation  the  railway  and 
steamboat  traveling,  and  only  include  horseback  riding 
and  on  foot." 

"  I  don't  know,  I  'm  sure,"  replied  Jack.  "  Let 's  figure 
it  up  as  best  we  can,  and  see  how  it  comes  out." 

They  proceeded  to  figure  it,  but  frankly  acknowledged 
that  the  job  was  a  difficult  one,  on  account  of  their  nu- 
merous scouting  expeditions,  many  of  which  they  could  n't 
remember  at  the  moment.  Altogether  they  thought  it 
must  have  been  not  far  from  a  thousand  miles  up  to  the 
time  they  made  their  last  departure  from  Rolla.  The 
army,  as  we  have  seen,  had  marched  six  hundred  miles 
from  Rolla  to  Helena,  and  as  the  boys  had  made  many 
scouting  and  other  expeditions  around  Pea  Ridge,  Forsyth 
and  Batesville,  they  thought  it  not  unfair  to  add  four 
hundred  miles  to  the  total  of  the  army's  movements, 
making  two  thousand  miles  altogether. 

"Just  think  of  it !  "  exclaimed  Jack.  "  Two  thousand 
miles  !  Why,  that 's  two-thirds  the  distance,  about,  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco.  It 's  a  big  lot  of  traveling, 
especially  when  it 's  been  done  on  the  quarter-deck  of  a 
horse,  and  sometimes  under  very  hard  circumstances. 
We  've  been  many  times  in  peril  of  our  lives,  passed 
through  a  great  many  privations,  been  cold  and  wet  and 
hungry,  but  for  all  that,  here  we  are  as  healthy  as  a 
couple  of  young  tigers,  ready  for  the  next  adventure  that 
turns  up." 

"  Yes,  that  's  so,"  replied  Harry ;  "  and  I  suppose  you 
don't  want  to  go  home  just  now,  do  you?" 

"  Not  I,"  was  the  ready  response  ;  "  but  we  '11  see  what 
our  folks  say  about  it,  and  also  what  the  general  says." 


292  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

"We  haven't  had  any  letters  for  a  long  time,"  said 
Harry,  "  and  furthermore  we  have  n't  sent  any,  for 
the  very  simple  reason  that  the  mails  could  n't  get 
either  to  oi'  from  us.  We  've  been  buried  in  the 
wilderness  as  much  as  though  we  had  been  in  the  middle 
of  Africa." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Jack ;  "  and  that  reminds  me  of  something 
I  heard  General  Vandever  saying  this  morning.  He  had  a 
newspaper  which  somebody  brought  down  on  a  steamboat 
from  Memphis,  and  I  heard  him  telling  General  Wash- 
burne  that  the  newspapers  were  full  of  articles  about  us, 
and  there  was  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  concerning  General 
Curtis  and  his  army." 

"  Then  he  laughed,"  continued  Jack,  "  and  said  they 
were  speaking  of  us  as  '  The  Lost  Army.'  Nothing  had 
been  heard  from  us  for  such  a  long  time  that  they  were 
afraid  we  'd  been  lost  and  could  n't  get  back  again,  or 
perhaps  the  rebs  had  killed  or  captured  us  all." 

"  Well,  we  have  n't  been  lost  very  much,"  said  Harry, 
with  what  may  be  called  an  audible  smile.  "  We  've 
always  known  where  we  were,  and  whenever  the  enemy 
attacked  us  he  had  reason  to  know  that  we  knew.  But, 
I  say.  Jack,  that  gives  me  an  idea." 

"What  is  that?" 

"  Why,  if  we  ever  write  a  story  of  our  campaigns  that 
'11  be  a  good  name  for  it.  We  '11  call  it  '  The  Lost  Army,' 
and  it  '11  be  a  first-rate  title." 

"  That  's  so,"  Jack  answered,  "  and  it  will  be  quite  as 
truthful  as  many  titles  of  books  I  've  seen.  Very  often 
when  you  read  a  book  there 's  very  little  in  the  pages  of 
the  volume  that  seem  to  have  been  suggested  by  what 
you  find  on  the  title-page." 

"  Just  so,"  said  Harry,  "  and  a  man  will  have  to  read 
clear  through  to  the  last  chapter  before  he  finds  out  what 
The  Lost  Army  was.  And  when  he  does  find  out  he  '11  agree 


THE  LOST  ARMY.  293 

with  us  that  we  have  n't  been  going  round  getting  lost 
very  much." 

We  had  the  permission  of  the  youths  to  give  the  account 
of  their  experiences  in  the  southwest,  and  have  taken  it,  ■ 
title  and  all.     This  is  why  our  story  has  been  called  as 
the  reader  has  seen. 

Helena  continued  to  be  a  permanent  military  post  from 
that  time  onward,  but  the  rebels  did  not  attempt  to  dis- 
turb it,  for  the  double  reason  that  their  force  of  troops  on 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  small,  and  no  good  could 
come  from  a  raid  on  the  town  when  they  would  not  be  able  to 
hold  it  more  than  a  few  hours,  only  until  gun-boats  could 
arrive  to  drive  them  away.  General  Curtis  was  ordered  to 
St.  Louis  to  take  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Mis- 
souri, and  operate  against  the  rebels  that  were  making 
things  somewhat  lively  in  the  neighborhood  of  Springfield 
and  Fayetteville.  A  portion  of  the  troops  that  had  composed 
The  Lost  Army  remained  at  Helena,  but  the  greater  part 
were  ordered  to  join  the  corps  that  made  the  second  attack 
on  Vicksburg  and  ultimately  succeeded  in  reducing  that 
important  stronghold  of  the  rebellion. 

Two  or  three  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  General  Curtis 
at  Helena  word  was  received  of  a  party  of  rebels  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  away  in  a  northerly  direction.  Two 
companies  of  the  Third  Wisconsin  Cavalry  went  to  look 
for  the  enemy,  and  were  accompanied  by  our  young 
friends.  They  found  the  enemy,  and  very  unexpectedly 
too,  for  they  ran  into  an  ambuscade ;  but  happily  the  aim 
of  the  rebel  rifles  was  so  bad  that  only  two  or  three  men 
were  injured.  Then  the  unionists  "  went  in,"  and  thrashed 
the  rebels,  compelling  them  to  retreat  after  the  loss  of 
several  of  their  number.  Harry  and  Jack  had  each  a 
prisoner  to  his  credit,  though  it  is  proper  to  say  that  they 
were  not  captured  in  fair  fighting.  The  way  of  it  was 
this : 


294  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

After  the  fighting  was  over  the  youths  dismounted  to 
look  over  the  ground  and  pick  up  anything  that  miglit  be 
of  value  or  would  indicate  to  what  company  or  regiment, 
if  any,  the  men  they  had  been  engaged  with  belonged. 
They  had  done  this  on  several  occasions  to  advantage,  and 
in  the  latter  part  of  their  campaigning  it  was  a  rule  to 
which  they  adhered  whenever  circumstances  permitted. 

While  they  were  inspecting  the  scene  of  the  skirmish, 
Harry  came  to  a  large  tree  which  proved  on  examination 
to  be  hollow.  He  remarked  to  Jack  that  it  was  a  good 
place  for  a  man  to  hide  in,  to  which  Jack  replied  that  it 
would  hold  half  a  dozen  or  more  if  they  did  n't  mind  a 
little  crowding. 

"  Who  knows  but  that  some  of  those  fellows  hid  there 
when  they  found  we  were  getting  the  best  of  'em,"  said 
Harry.     "  Suppose  we  investigate  that  tree." 

Jack  agreed  to  it,  and  they  approached  the  tree,  cocked 
their  pistols  and  pointed  them  up  the  hollow  into  the 
darkness. 

"  Come  down  out  of  that,"  said  Harry,  in  a  commanding 
tone,  "  or  we  '11  shoot  daylight  into  you." 

There  was  no  response,  and  Harry  was  about  to  turn 
away  when  Jack,  more  in  fun  than  with  any  expectation 
of  finding  anybody,  called  out : 

"  Come  down,  I  say.  You  '11  have  just  five  seconds  to 
come  in." 

"I  'm  a-coming,"  said  a  weak  voice  from  the  darkness, 
much  to  the  surprise  of  the  boys,  and  a  moment  later 
down  slipped  a  forlorn  looking  "  Butternut,"  who  was 
evidently  greatly  frightened. 

"  Surrender ! "  shouted  Harry,  "  and  tell  the  rest  of 
'em  to  come  right  away." 

"  There  's  only  one  more  feller  there,"  said  the  prisoner, 
who  surrendered  by  throwing  his  hands  in  the  air  and 
dropping  his   shotgun    on   the   ground.     The  summons 


TUE  LOST  ARMY.  295 

was  renewed,  and  down  came  the  "  one  more  feller  "  and 
surrendered  after  the  same  fashion ;  and  this  was  the  way 
their  prisoners  were  taken. 

'•  Not  quite  as  meritorious  a  performance  as  captur- 
ing them  in  open  fighting,"  said  Harry ;  "  but  then  it 's 
like  hooking  a  fish  in  the  side  instead  of  catching  him 
in  the  regular  way  by  the  mouth — he  counts  just  the 
same." 

During  their  stay  at  Helena  Harry  and  Jack  made 
themselves  useful  in  looking  after  the  negroes  that  flocked 
there  for  protection,  and  they  were  sometimes  derisively 
mentioned  by  their  comrades  as  managers  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau.  But  they  took  the  satire  good-naturedly 
and  went  on  with  their  work,  which  consisted  of  aiding 
in  the  distribution  of  rations,  making  lists  of  the  negroes 
as  fast  as  they  came  in,  assigning  them  to  different  parts 
of  the  camp,  helping  them  to  their  free-papers,  drafting 
out  all  who  were  able  to  work,  and  sending  them  to  the 
levee  to  aid  in  unloading  steamboats,  or  into  the  forests 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Helena,  where  they  were  employed 
to  cut  wood.  At  every  opportunity  they  endeavored  to 
instill  into  the  negro-mind  the  idea  that  freedom  did  n't 
mean  idleness,  and  insisted  that  the  best  way  of  making 
this  fact  understood  was  to  put  the  negro  at  work,  even 
if  work  had  to  be  manufactured  for  him. 

Consequently  when  there  was  nothing  else  to  be  done, 
Harry  would  take  the  negroes  who  were  under  his  orders 
and  set  them  to  throwing  up  a  fortification  around  the 
camp.  When  it  was  completed  he  pretended  to  wish  to 
change  something  about  it,  and  thus  the  earth  of  which  it 
was  composed  was  handled  over  several  times  in  succession. 

The  last  we  saw  of  our  young  friends  in  the  camp  at 
Helena  they  were  looking  on  and  listening  one  Sunday 
evening  when  the  negroes  were  having  a  religious  meet- 
ing.   Several  negro  preachers  harangued  the  assemblage  in 


296  THE  LOST  ARMY. 

their  quaint  and  forcible  way.  Prayers  were  offered,  and 
tliree  or  four  hymns  were  sung  with  great  fervor,  all  the 
congregation  joining,  and  fairly  making  the  woods  ring 
with  their  voices. 

THE    END. 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Wilmer 
687 


